


The True Trickster

by Barreltime



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Alternate Universe, Attempt at Humor, Canon Divergence, Comedy, Deep plot, Deviates From Canon, Drama, F/M, Intense at times, Other tags to be added, Past Character Death, Past Lives, Persona 5 Protagonist Has A Palace, Persona Series - Freeform, Personal Canon, Plot, Plot Twist, Romance, Slice of Life, Spoilers, persona 5 - Freeform, ren amamiya - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2020-05-15 08:28:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 104
Words: 347,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19292023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Barreltime/pseuds/Barreltime
Summary: What if our p5 protagonist gets his persona 2 years before he gets arrested and has setup has already established his own phantom thieves group even if it’s only "himself" until he reaches Tokyo and Shujin Academy where the events of persona 5 unfold. But what secrets of his past come back to haunt him and his new life?





	1. Double life

**Author's Note:**

> First time ever doing this so please be lenient with me as I haven’t written something like this also this is my own twist on the story so a lot of things will be different then the main story but the main story we’ll be the main building block of the whole story I have written
> 
> This is also a practice for other stories that I might write in the future

 A year before the arrest

** Amamiya household **

A little girl around 11 or 12 with long brown hair busts into a room where a certain dark haired ren is sleeping 

“hey ren wake up breakfast is ready

”Maybe I’ll just turn into moss so you won’t stop nagging me yuki”

Ren is hit in the back repeatedly until he finally gets up after yuki leaves but as ren gets up into and prepares into uniform but whilst he is ready for school audible high pitched yelling can be heard downstairs 

“yea, yea coming down”

A brown haired lady with her hair in a ponytail and making setting breakfast for ren and yuki as both are preparing for school with a dark haired gentlemen is also preparing for work

The woman looks to ren with a scolding look “about time you got down here I even sent Yuki to come wake up”

Yuki looks towards her while eating a pice of toast “but mom big bro doesn’t like waking up”

Ren laughs as it’s hard to be taken serious with toast in your mouth “my bad, my bad”

an older gentleman walks into the room adjusting his tie smiling to ren 

“you’ve never have been a morning person”

“oh hey dad”

“seems your finals are done and the grades are up maybe you’ll do higher than 96 this time”

“dad I’ve had high grades since last year I know I’ll do better this year”

“I know I know you really changed in almost a year i just wanna make sure you’re not slipping up 

Yuki then gives smug look to ren and she snicker s to herself “if you slip up i hope you know I’ll surpass you” yuki looks at the both of them with a smug look

”Yea yea”

Yuki give a mischievous smile as she wishes misfortune on her older brother

“now, now ren hurry up and go before you’re late that perfect intelligence of yours should know better”

”I know let me just finish eating”

ren finishes his breakfast and then says his goodbyes and leaves for school but isn’t alone as a certain top hat wearing winged beast pops out of him

“ **you really are a pushover for someone who takes down those with distorted hearts whilst keeping it among yourself”**

“it’s not that hard since how much I’ve trained and prepared” ren says as not only has he been training in martial arts but has also hit the gym and has a stable wallet from the jobs he works for showing how far he has come 

“ **you sure seem sure about this even going into a palace all on your own** ”

“well you said his desires weren’t incredibly distorted as he had some constraints but it was still an easy takedown for being my first palace” even if it was only a small palace ren was able to take down a corrupt business CEO as a certain long nose informant told him that although his desires weren’t too distorted to warrant a huge palace but ren sat there wondering what a huge palace would warrant and how distorted one’s desires must be

The small business CEO simply had a shrine as he thought his business should be worshipped and praised yet he misused employees and stole from charity as ren was pondering 3 figures showed up one of them being a dark brown haired female with her hair in bob and 2 boys giggling between themselves 

“Hey ren” a familiar female voice says as she walks over to ren 

“Oh hey Eiko what’s the news between those 2 goofballs”

A loud voice replies back “awww nothing just about how our grades are finally up I can’t wait to see which one of us failed 

Eiko chirps up “knowing you“ she points to a light browned haired male  with glasses “I won’t be surprised to see you at near 300 compared to the rest of us who have been near 100 for the most part”

She giggles as the other male with straight dark hair adds in his own remark

“You’d think hanging around the smarter group would help you improve yet you seem to almost fail each time”

“Cmon Akira give me a break you’re not so hot as you had the second lowest score in our group”

“Ken having your score near the 150s is better then near failing at least I have an average score”

Eiko giggles as she has been in top 50 in the school for the longest while ren has been top 100 and having the near failing Ken and average score Akira 

Akira laughed as he showed no mercy to the already down ken

“You know if you stopped staying up playing your dating sims you’d be in the clear”

Ken screams at the laughing ren “THERE NOT DATING SIMS!!!”

The whole group laughs at their poor friends mistakes on the way to school

Arsene listening to the whole conversation then chuckles at Ren knowing how much he has changed in the past year with his training after obtaining the MetaNav “ **I’d like to see the shock once they realize how far you’ve gone** ”

Ren responds back “let’s hope I don’t force ken to have a cardiac arrest when he sees it”

Ken quickly overcomes his new found sadness from his friends teasing him “did you hear about that calling card to that business owner?”

Eiko speaks up “the one who was about to score a deal that would put his clothing store all across the country?”

“Yea that one”

“What about him??”

“He apparently confessed to several crimes in an interview it was like he lost his heart or something”

Akira then joins in “its weird though not only do we have those mental shutdown cases but several people have confessed to crimes no one knew till now”

Ren then joins in silencing the group

“Could just be one whole coincidence but we can talk about that later the school is around the corner let’s see if ken failed or not”

“HEY SHUT UP” 

As the group walk in to the crowd surrounding the board of grades they all search for their name

Ken chuckles as he got 287 

“HAH I didn’t fail that bad”

Eiko replies with a stern look

“I’d consider that failing“

Both Akira and Eiko found their names Eiko gotthe same score as last time Being 48 while Akira got 138 they all seemed to have improved since last year but they couldn’t find Ren’s name anywhere on the board

Ken replies in a soft low tone 

“Hey ren where’s your score?”

Eiko chimes in “yea it’s not anywhere on here”

Ren then gives a smug smile as he adjusts his glasses before speaking

“Check up top”

All 3 look up to see who’s in the number 1 spot to see Ren’s name pop up

They all simultaneously gasp as they saw their friend take the top spot 

Eiko is the first to recover “Uhh Ren since when did you get smart enough TO ACE THE FINAL!?!?!”

Ken still shocked to see his friend out best everyone in the school

“You traitor I thought we were bros”

Akira gives his response too

“You really have improved over the past couple of months to think you’d come think far puts a tear in my eye if only ken could match up”

“SHUSH”

Eiko recovers “Still regardless of those you really have improved congratulations on finally being smarter then me”

“Ah I appreciate the word of honor from empress Eiko

“Ahh same to you sir Ren”

They both say as they bow whilst giggling

Akira chimes in “well lets go to class before we’re late”

**After school**

The 4 of them decide to head out to ramen restaurant after school to cool off from the day

“Still” ken says “it’s impressive that you took number 1 though still seems like a figment of my imagination”

Ren smiles “at least we all improved mr I’m going to pull an all nighter before a final”

Ken sighs “ i thought we were passed that”

Eiko chuckles “we’ll never forget that time where you slept on the final and drooled all over it that’ll never escape our minds” Eiko snickers “just like when a certain someone got stuck in an elevator because he thought they’re different generators for the elevators”

Akira sighs”don’t remind me”

As the orders come in and everyone starts slurping down ken makes a comment about Ren

“You know it’s still shocking”

“What is ken?”

“How the ren we knew as your average typical troublemaker turns into some grade A perfect student”

Arsene pop in although however only Ren can hear him

“ **You know you’ve done a lot to prepare in being an otherworldly rebel** ”

“ _Yea life’s crazy but I mean we live in a society what can you do about it_ ”

“ **A society of distortions and weirdos** ”

“ _Facts_ ”

Ren turned his attention to Ken

“A lot can happen in half a year” 

“I guess your right” Ken took a bite before talking again “still to think you’d be a smart person and a chick magnet”

“What’re meaning by that?”

“Have you not see the girls around school talkin bout how hot you are and how cute Ren Amamiya is you’d think you’d help a brotha out and help me score some”

Eiko scoffed as Ken’s comment “as if anyone would go for you you’d probably weird them out if you showed them your dating sims”

Ken sighs and quietly says “they’re not dating sims”

Eiko then goes back at giggling then faces Ren

“Yea you seem to have changed for the good if only the other followed y’know if I wasn’t considering you guys as brothers to me I would totally try hitting on Ren but  Like I said you guys are practically brothers to me”

Akira nods in agreement

“You all are like family to me with how we spent from before we got into school to now it’s been a hell of a journey hasn’t it”

Ken responds “you got that heh to think we really have grown as people”

Eiko snickers 

“Some more than others”

Akira laughs “yep”

“Oh I was taking to the both of you”

“What? Why me?” Eiko then points her finger up at him and Ken “you both are severely reckless, loud and not charming at all, I mean look at Ren he has everything down”

Akira then takes a jab at her “if you think Ren has all those qualities why haven’t you dated him?” 

Eiko without hesitation “you guys are like little brothers to me so I can’t think past that”

they continued to eat their ramen and talk about some meager topics mainly involving ken’s poor choices and after a bit they leave and split up Arsene and Ren are alone walking up towards Ren’s house 

“ **It’s time for your training** ” 

“Time to kick some shadow ass”

“ **That’s the spirit** ” 

Ren starts up the MetaNav with Arsene now being visible and not as transparent Ren’s clothes changing into his theifware with his dagger in hand and a toy gun on the other “it’s still wierd how a toy gun acts like a real one in here” he flips the gun around inspecting it 

“ **that’s just how the Metaverse works** ”

“Yea but it all really looks the same the only time we saw anything that doesn’t look like normal we’re all of those people’s palaces”

“ **To think how certain people’s desires can stoop to that level maybe there’s a citadel somewhere we don’t know about** ”

“That’d be convenient but where are we suppose to look for some big citadel we can’t leave Kyoto”

“ **That’s true but maybe after you graduate you can expand out of this town to see if there’s if there is one** ”

”that’s a thought”

“ **Hopefully we can finally end the guy behind the mental shutdown cases** ”

”I hope as well”

“ **Yea maybe it’ll be change of pace to us just hunting down shadows from roof to roof** ”

”seems to be fewer than usual there all walking towards the east”

” **maybe there is a citadel over somewhere** ”

After a bit Ren comes out of the metaverse to go to his house and change for the gym but a certain younger sibling gets in his way

“where do you think your going”

“to the gym? Why?

Yuki pouts “why don’t you stay here and play with me also help me with homework”

Ren sighs “you’re too high maintenance”

Yuki grins “well your smart so don’t get all mopey with me mister”

after Ren helps Yuki with her homework he decides to go to bed instead of train for the night 

_**Ren’s room** _

 

Ren sighs “still it’s gonna he a while till I drive, hey Arsene can’t you fly over there to go and check”

” **I would but I’m still semi attached to you as I need to be in a certain proximity with you** ”

”seems so” ren sighs “still I think it’s time to hit the hay”

” **sweet dreams** ”

”kinda of haunting having an 8ft monster with wings and a top hat watching me sleep”

” **I’m not a monster!** ”

Ren grins as his poke towards Arsene worked 

“anyways good night”


	2. Park incident/ farewell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This’ll be the end of the prologue where we enter into the main story enjoy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UNDER HEAVY EDITING

**_Amamiya household_ **

it was morning all nice and quiet until ren’s door is open with a yelling yuki trying to get ren to get up out of his deep slumber 

“cmon ren get up I wanna go to the park with hiro”

hiro being akira’s Younger sibling who often played with yuki and was the big reason akira and ren are friends 

ren groans in a low voice “mmmmm why can’t mom or dad do it”

”because they left for work and I can’t go by myself as I have no one to protect me”

”aughh fine but you can’t bother me after this”

yuki gives a big smile “Deal!”

They both trot downstairs into the kitchen where they eat the breakfast mom had prepared for the both of them although not as hot when it was made but warm enough to be enjoyable

yuki munches on piece of toast while speaking

”hey *munch munch* is eiMo cMoMiM”

”talk without your mouth full of toast and yes she is coming ken is probably too busy resting from his all nighter”

”does he ever go outside”

”whenever we do practically he’s a bit of a lazy bum”

                          ——————

Whilst playing an MMO ken feels a shiver and immediately slumps over 

“I’m being pitied on”

”oh well” as he goes back to not sleeping and playing his MMO

                          ——————

**_Park entrance_ **

 

as both walk into the park 3 familiar figures sit on a nearby bench chatting about

yuki gleefully yells “HEY GUYS”

both eiko and akira turn over and wave as the small hiro jogs over

”hey ren and yuki you wanna play?”

”I think yuki is the only one willing to I’m just going to talk to the other teens over here”

”ok” as the pair then run over around the park but not leaving the sight of the 3 sitting on the bench

”so” eiko chuckles “ken is resting again”

”seems so that guy never leaves his house sometimes we might as well classify him as moss”

the 3 laugh at their poor friend not even here at the moment

”anyways” akira quickly responds without laughing “you guys want to watch a movie that’s coming out in a week”

”Oh in that old theater they decided to not take down”

”Yea it’s still strange though he turned himself in to a bunch of crimes and took responsibility for a workers death”

”it’s still strange though” eiko stares up at ren “what do you think about it ren”

Ren comes back from staring at space ”oh I uh don’t really have anything to say about it”

arsene pop out and chuckles at ren “ **if you’re not careful they might realize who you are** ” arsene continues to laugh at ren who slipped up at the moment

”you think that’s a real person or something like there must be someone who sends those cards out and then I guess steals their hearts or minds”

“Yea maybe I mean this is writing by a human person right or could be a ghost”

”couldn’t be the copies have a similar but not exact handwriting”

”you could always take your time in writing those it’s not like they’ll know your handwriting immediately” 

ren sighs “maybe it’s a group and not just a single person”

”maybe, but hey akira and ren there’s an ice cream shop nearby and I want some”

the 2 boys both chuckle 

“Ok you glutton you’ll sound like a pig if you keep this up”

eiko yells at ren and pouts “shut up ren not all of us have to be as fit as you”

akira mockingly make some pig sounds until eiko chops him over the head in anger

”speaking of being fit hey ren why are exercising this much?”

”oh no particular reason”

eiko mischievously grins at ren “ooooh is it for a girl we don’t know about”

ren is caught off guard “n-no of course not I only hang out with you guys”

”wonder what she looks like hey akira do you have an idea”

”nope but let’s call the 2 energetic demonspawns over here for ice cream before the sun goes down”

The 3 yell for both yuki and hiro and they come tumbling about also wanting ice cream after they all get ice cream and go back to the bench to talk and hiro immediately speaks up at ren 

“hey ren yuki told me about how you know karate and taekwondo”

”uhh yea what about it?”

”can you teach me I mean I know some but you basically an expert at it so I want you to teach me so” hiro gets into a comical karate stance “FACE ME”

the other 2 start uncontrollably laughing 

akira in between laughs “you really are a nutcase you know that”

”hey shut up bro I’m gonna get ren to teach me so I can beat you up”

”whatever you say karate master”

the 2 go back to laughing hysterically while ren chuckles

”ok hiro I’ll help you beat up akira “

hiro grins while pumping his fist in the air “all right”

whilst the conversation about martial arts was going on a curious yuki is following a bright blue butterfly while being looked on by a giant gentlemen ghost with wings

” **seems as ren is too preoccupied with teaching hiro I might as well keep tract of our little sister in case she gets lost** ”

yuki being mesmerized by the bright blue butterfly ends up walking to near the edge of a park to near an alleyway where 2 men in large coats with one of them holding a breifcase the man with the briefcase is giving instructions to the other guy

”that’s where you suppose to drop it off don’t attract attention or else the boss will be mad and both of us will have our asses hung”

”y-yes sir”

as they chatting along yuki notices them and listens in 

“ **this doesn’t look good I’ll need to inform ren about this** ” arsene proceeds to fly over to where ren but as he does

one of the men notice yuki and dash over to her cupping her mouth and holding her arm

”looks like a small pest found us and needs to be exterminated”

yuki tries screaming but it’s all muffled and ineligible but she’s able to bite his hand and scream one thing before she is silenced

over at the benches

The 4 are still chatting about martial arts and school until arsene flies at ren

” **ren yuki is in trouble we need to go now** ”

”oh hey where is yuki” he says aloud

they all take a look around until a scream is heard in the distance 

_REN!!!!!!!!!_

they all looks towards the direction of the scream and without hesitation ren sprints over dropping his ice cream while the other 3 follow

**back in the alleyway**

”open the trunk let’s put her in after I duct tape her shut”

”on it” he grabs the duct tape but as he is about to duct tape yuki she bites them both and attempts to run until on of the individuals kicks her down

”little brat I’ll show you what happens when you mess with us!”

as he is about to stomp on her he is punch in the side of the head knocking him down

“bastard don’t you touch her like that”

yuki tried to get up but falls over from the shock of the kick but is help by eiko as she puts her on her shoulder 

yuki tries to speak without crying but can’t help it as the tears fall out “i-i-i I’m sorry I got distracted and they attacked me”

ren immediately turns towards the other guy with his teeth clenched while the individual tries to talk it out obviously scared as his punch looked like it could do some serious damage

”c-chill man don’t hurt me I’m innocent”

ren grabs him by his coat “you tried duct taping her”

the guy tries striking ren but ren grabs his fist twisting it around him while the person screams for mercy but unknowingly the other guy gets up and attacks ren knife in hand clutching the right side of his face which was bleeding from the fall

”take this you shit head kid” he  immediately strikes at ren but ren dodges immediately hitting him in the face  knocking him back as the other guy gets back up but is kicked in the head leaving him unconscious 

“bastard brat and useless worker” he gets up with his nose bleeding uncontrollably and charges ren with his knife 

“ **use your third eye to predict his moves** ”

Ren without questioning uses his third eye and immediately counter attacks leaving his assailant on the ground out cold 

ren walks back to the 4 who saw the fight in awe of the spectacle but as ren walks back he drops on the floor as one of his knife strike hit him in the chest leaving a large gaush on his chest 

“no ren stay with us REN!!”

ren falls unconscious as his friends try to help him and in a couple of minutes a cop car and ambulance arrive

**_Hospital_ **

ren Wakes up to see a unfamiliar roof but as he gets up there is pain surfacing on his chest “arghh where am I”

” **hospital you passed out earlier today after that fight** ” arsene chuckles “ **but jokes aside you need to be more careful who knows what kind of attention you receive if you keep doing this and the fact you were way too reckless you need to take things slower especially now with your current situation you need to rest for today**

“What about the others”

 **“They’ll will be coming soon to see you** ”

”I’m guessing dad is investigating those 2 guys but how bad are my injuries?”

” **just a stab wound although large you’ll need to rest for a few days then you get to comeback but for now you must rest and prepare for our next adventure** ”

ren agrees with the gentleman theif and takes a nap for 3 hours until his family and friends arrive

ren is sat up and watches as his little sister and friends pile in

yuki’s eyes and face are red from crying and rubbing her face to stop said crying and immediately rushes over to hug the injured ren 

“I-I-I-I’m sorry ren”

”no need to apologize as long as your safe”

”b-but you’re hurt”

she begins to cry again and eiko Ken and akira come into the room 

“oh hey your safe” ken chuckles “guess Ill have to come outside more to keep you in check”

eiko elbows ken “you can barely check on yourself let alone other”

ken groans “but ren does it all the time”

”anyways ren that was way to reckless of you to jump in like that”

eiko sighs “but judging from how yuki was on the ground i guess it was a necessary for you to do it but still we were all worried for your safety so at least stop to think before going in head first”

akira snickers “to think you’d rebound this much even after you were crying on the ride here” eiko hits akira “but ren at least consider you life before you get yourself killed if you simply just go in danger first you’ll be the sorry one as everyone you know would mourn for you”

ren sighs “ok dad what’s another things I should know” they all laugh for a bit

After a bit they 3 leave with yuki and ren waiting for their parents to come in

”I’m sorry on my part yuki though I saw they he attacked you and instinctively went for them I should’ve kept an eye out for you”

“I’m sorry as well I saw a bright blue butterfly and I chased after it because it looked cool”

”a blue butterfly?”

”Yea! It was big, bright and blue so I wanted to have it land on me to I could get a close look at it”

both of ren’s parents come in with ren’s mom having a worried look on her face while his dad is just smiling but still has a face of concern

”oh hey mom and dad”

yuki runs over to hug the both of them while they speak to ren 

“ren honey are you ok you collapsed of exhaustion to what eiko and akira said”

”Yea I also had a slash on my chest though not as deep but it stills hurts”

ren’s dad smiles at ren

”seems you really were all right” he starts chuckling

”he gets that gunho nature from you” she sighs “to think you do almost what you father did when he was starting out as a detective”

REn’s dad chuckles

”wait dad has done it before”

”many times although I did learn to think and not be as careless”

”so did you gets the 2 guys who tried to hit yuki”

”Yea but they aren’t saying who they work for they’re most likely small runners for a bigger organization so the station put up a gag order for your name to stay out of any reports to make sure no more of them can attack you”

”anyways ren we’ll be going now so stay here and rest and try to stay out of trouble”

”will do”

the 3 leave the room presumably leaving ren by himself but not knowing a certain top hat wearing ghost is above ren

” **so what a day you experienced** ”

he chuckles “ **I guess this is needed for all the work you’ve done** ”

“you mean we”

” **Yea yea but mainly you as you have the same spunk as your dad guess the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree after all** ”

”still we need to find out if there is a whole center for these shadows”

” **most likely but we have time so we can worry for that later so rest for now** ”

”all right” 

ren goes and falls asleep

**_Velvet room_ **

“seems our inmate is progressing real fast”

”yes it seems so”

The long nosed individual laughs “seems ruin is still around the corner let’s see how far he’ll go to stop it from happening but this showing proves one thing”

”what’s that?”

”he’ll go as far as he needs to in order to achieve his goal”

**3 months after the incident at night**

Ren was walking home from work as he saw a drunk man try to grab a woman and put her in his car and ren was now in the middle between the two and the presumably drunk man falls over scratching his head leaving it bleeding

”shithead brat I’ll sue!”

a cop car starts rolling up onto the scene

”hey bitch you better tell them that he assaulted me”

the women crying simply nods but turns away from ren 

ren stares at her shocked as the cop proceeds to walk over to ren after the man tells them what happened

ren is cuffed whole the woman hesitantly agreees with his story

**_the next day_ **

Ren is sitting at the courthouse with his mom and sister crying while his dad tries to argue with the judge but to no avail

”so I’m guessing I’m going away for a while”

Ren’s dad bangs his fist at the wall while he angrily talks “why are they just taking his side what is wrong with the judicial system”

”it’s okay dad it’s my fault”

”No it’s not, that woman obviously lied about that but that man Masayoshi Shido he seems to know the people around system and cheated his way in” he angrily yells “THAT BASTARD!”

”it’s ok I’ll take full responsibility”

his father then stares at ren before smiling “your too much like me but I will get you out of this situation even if it’ll kill me”

”well I guess I should pack my bags and message my friends farewell

**The next day at the train station**

ren’s family and closest friends show up to bid his farewell

yuki walks up to ren with a bunny keychain on her and gives it to ren “it’s the charm you gave me at the arcade 2 years ago take it for good luck” 

ren smiles back at her “thank you”

akira, Ken and eiko walk up to ren

”guess you’re going now for a year in Tokyo”

”seems so” ren looks down

ken sighs before smiling at him with tears in his eyes “give em hell ren we’ll keep the fort down for you”

akira then smiles at him “better come back with a girl or two heh”

eiko holding back tears hugs ren “you better comeback better than ever”

“Will do”

akira gives a reassuring smile at ren “don’t worry we hold off any rumors about you”

ren then waves at everyone a farewell with everyone of them trying not to cry or are just letting the tears come out

after a bit they get smaller and smaller as the train gets farther away from his home

” **guess Tokyo will be our stop** ”

”hey at least we have a way to check if there is more corrupt people over here”

” **even when you’re at your lowest you still have a selfless act to bring along with you, all right let’s go and change some people hearts!** ”

”right”


	3. New life in an attic

**_Yongen Jaya_ **

”so Sojiro Sakura will be my caretaker but his house is locked”

“ **theres a mailman right there ask him** ”

”umm excuse me is this Sojiro sakura’s house

”Yea but he runs a coffee shop on the other side of the street”

”thanks”

ren runs over to the coffee shop

” leblanc sound pretty fancy ”

Ren enters the shop

”hey I’m looking for a Sojiro Sakura”

the old man wearing a pink buttoned up shirt black apron and Beige khakis turns around and speaks to ren

”your looking at him and I’ll take it that your takuma’s kid Tch to think a respectable detective gave birth to a delinquent like yourself”

sojiro puts down the coffee for a customer and leads ren to the attic

”this’ll be where you’re staying for the next year”

ren smiles at sojiro “thanks for taking me in”

sojiro shocked from his politeness and gratitude coming from ren simply responds to him with “Yea just go and clean it that’s all up to you”

An hour later of cleaning and moving old boxes full of junk later and the place is at least suitable to sleep in

”hey kid come down here”

”coming”

ren comes downstairs he sees sojiro closed the shop up and wearing a white suit jacket and a white fedora instead of a black apron

”cmon kid lets go to the school that allowed someone like you in”

they both leave the shop and head towards the small yellow car and drive to Shujin Academy but as they do they get stuck in traffic

“of course I spend my evening off looking after a delinquent like you”

sojiro sighs “if you get into any trouble with the school you’ll be put into juvie no questions asked so don’t get reckless and follow the rules”

” _if only he knew that I was the person responsible for those arrest back in Kyoto_ ”

“ **He’ll never know about it as long as you keep it to yourself** ”

 

they finally arrive at Shujin Academy and enter into the building and go towards the faculty office and they enter in to where they see a young looking lady

she looks up at ren with a stern look

”I’ll take it you’re.....Ren Amamiya right?”

”yes ma’am”

she stares at ren with a wierd look

”huh and I thought you were some delinquent mr Kobayakawa let skip through maybe your more that but oh well make sure your not late for you first day but for now I’ll be your home room teacher so don’t slack off”

”will do”

they walk up towards the principal’s office and greet the principal 

“So your the new transfer” he smiles at ren “welcome to Shujin Academy I hope you enjoy your stay here and please stay out of trouble”

”I’ll do as I can”

after a bit more sight seeing they leave The school

**_Leblanc cafe_ **

”oh yea I hope you learned how to use the subway because I’m not driving you there and back”

”don’t worry I got it”

”anyways I’m going to close up shop and if you tamper with anything you’re out of here”

sojiro locks up the store leaving ren by himself well himself and an 8ft top hat wearing winged  gentleman ghost 

“ **he seemed pretty serious and unsure about you but he still has some trust from you** ”

”probably because he knows my dad” ren walks upstairs into the attic with green sweats and a white t shirt

” **so I’m guessing you felt that feeling too?** ”

”Yea, looks like we’ve hit the jackpot”

” **seems our real mission starts now** ”

ren chuckles “but let’s rest for now we’ll investigate tomorrow”

As ren falls asleep unaware of the other surveillance that’s not a giant ghost

**_Sojiro Sakura’s house_ **

a small orange haired girl is at her chair grinning about her own jackpot she found

“to think that the stealer of hearts and minds I’ve been searching for so long would appear just across the street if only I could talk to him”

she smiles at the monitor as she has access to both his phone and his chat ID

”I’ll message him after school let’s see what kind of spook I’ll give him them”

There is a knock at her door as she grins to herself “hey uh Futaba it’s getting late it’s time for sleep”

”oh....alright”

**_the next morning_ **

ren is upstairs getting into uniform while sojiro makes him some breakfast downstairs 

“hmm so this is the uniform I’ll wear to school”

” **looks pretty dashing on you** ”

ren goes downstairs to greet sojiro while sojiro gives a coffee and some curry

”oh thanks”

”can’t learn on an empty stomach”

ren chuckles “thanks”

After ren eats he leaves his dishes in the sink says his goodbyes to sojiro he leaves for school 

“ _hey arsene_ ”

” **what’s up** ”

” _I feel like there is something fishy in that school that we might be able to figure out on our own_ ”

” **it’s a high possibility but let’s see what we can find** ”

after a bit ren gets onto the train leading to shujin and while walking down its starts to rain to he takes shelter under a canopy looking on his phone until a platinum blonde girl stands next to him taking off her hood 

“ **she seems to stand out maybe she’s a clue** ”

” _that’s a stretch_ ”

” **just saying** ”

the girl notices him as sees he’s not a regular around “ _he looks new around here maybe he’s that new transfer_ ”

”hey are you that new transfer student”

”oh uh yea I am” ren looks down slightly waiting for the resentment 

“oh I’m Ann Takamaki pleasure to meet you”

“Ren Amamiya”

”so where are you from?” “ _He doesn’t seem out of the ordinary_ ” 

“Kyoto” “ **it seems she’s not judging you for your record** ”

As they chat a white sedan pulls up with a guy with a curly Afro sticks his head out the car smiling “need a ride?”

”see you later” 

she gets into the car and the man asks if he wants to get in but ren refuses as he internally grins from finding his new target

” **looks like your hunch was right** ”

As he looks down as the car drives down the road a bright blonde boy runs over

”Kamoshida that pervy bastard he’s probably looking down on you or trying to touch her right then and now”

” _Kamoshida huh_ ”

”he just thinks that the school is just his castle and he’s the king of it”

as he was saying that ren got more hits on his phone but got out of the app to that he doesn’t accidentally teleport over in front of a witness

”hey are you that new kid oh wait we don’t have times for introductions we’re going to be late here I know a shortcut”

the boy runs down the alleyway while ren runs with him but is slightly behind to check the MetaNav 

he enter in Kamoshida and immediately receives a hit

” _we got one now to see what’s else we can find_ ”

as they enter the school barely making it both ren and Ryuji give each other their names and run off in separate directions as ren walks upstairs to greet me Kawakami and give his first impressions to his new class

**class 2-D**

“So anyway class he have a new student arriving”

ren bows and gives his name while the class starts gossiping about the new student with an assault charge that entered into the class

”he looks ordinary”

”that’s what a lot of them look like but be careful or he’ll might attack you”

”try not to piss him off or he might kill you”

ms Kawakami attempts to control her class “ok everyone settle down ren you can sit behind Takamaki”

mad he started towards his desk the students around him started gossiping about him which left ren a bit uneasy

”a bunch of lies” Ann mumbled but it was loud enough for ren to hear

”thanks” ren replies with before he sat down

more gossiping was was happening between all the students as they wondered is Ann was going out with the delinquent transfer or how Kamoshida is being cheated on

”silence class anyways lets start off with the lesson for today

as the school day progresses not much happened besides more rumors after ren answered some questions right “ _they don’t seemed focused on knowing about me just the small stuff huh_ ”

” _we can focus on the small stuff later let’s investigate that Kamoshida person_ ”

**_After school_ **

as ren makes his way downstairs to the courtyard vending machines to get a drink but As he does a familiar blonde guy walks up to him

”oh hey your the transfer”

”Yea we never exchanged names”

”oh right I’m Ryuji Sakamoto just call me Ryuji I don’t really like being called by my last name”

”Ren Amamiya”

they shake hands and sit near the table next to them

”so have the rumors been treated you well” Ryuji gave a small laugh

”I wouldn’t say well as I’m being judged upon by my peers”

ryuji sighs “well get used to especially with that bastard Kamoshida making you his target” 

“oh yea do you know that Ann girl the one with blonde hair”

”oh her yea she’s basically the center of all the rumors im pretty sure you’ve heard of them hell you’re now apart of those rumors with her”

”what do you mean?”

“People are saying how she’s super easy to get or how she’s cheating on you or Kamoshida or something like that”

”wierd” ren finishes he drink “anyways wanna exchange chat ID’s?”

”sure”

they both exchange their chat ID’s and go in separate directions as ryuji has to make dinner with his mom while ren stayed behind to check the nav

”all right the key words were Kamoshida”

HIT

”Shujin Academy”

HIT

”and castle”

HIT NOW ENTERING 

“guess it time to check things out”

**_CASTLE OF LUST_ **

the world around ren started to change and the once Shujin Academy turned into a colossal castle

” **well after you** ”

They enter the castle looking around fighting guards on the way but they see a staircase leading down

”hmm demented castle with stairs leading downwards if my hunch is right there should be a torture chamber”

” **you’re pretty knowledgeable about castles** ”

”well it’s just a hunch and this is a distorted heart we’re talking about”

as they venture downwards they see a bunch of jail cells housing students with bruises, marks, cuts and some having bandages over their arms legs and faces

as they go down further they see a jail cell not with a student but a black small blue eyed cat with a yellow bandana

”a cat?”

his ear immediately rise and his eyes shine with the relief of finding another person here with him

”wait who are you” he examines ren

”a-a persona user?”

ren a little shocked by the talking cat in front of him “u-uh yea?”

”YES, my ticket out of here please let me out of here I’ll help you”

” _hey arsene should we?_ ”

” **he seems trustworthy although he is a tad quirky** ”

Ren helps the weird cat leave his cell 

“thank you for the help anyways I’m Morgana another persona user”

”who would’ve thought a small cat could have a persona “

”IM NOT A CAT”

”whatever you say” they walk back upstairs and leave through the front entrance they are greeted by a man wearing a pink thong a crown and a fluffy red and white robe

”it seems we have some intruders in here who are you”

”just some a couple of tourists walking through”

”heh more like theifs” he points at Morgana “you even took of the prisoners guess it time for you to be punished”

ren sighs “looks like it’s time for us to fight”

”GAURDS SIEZE THEM BOTH”

”wait do you even know how to fight?” Morgana asked

”watch and follow my lead”

As 3 guards come out to attack the duo ren summons his persona and uses a small curse spell to disorientate them

”Morgana!”

”Right!”

”ZORRO” as Morgana summons his persona to attack the guards who were still stunned by ren’s first attack were even further dazed as ren ran up to the gaurds and finished them off swiftly

shadow Kamoshida grits his teeth and back off before they work onto him instead “ILL GET YOU BACK FOR THIS”

”let’s retreat for now” 

“alright”

they run back to the front gate where ren first entered from

”so I never caught your name back there”

”oh it’s ren”

”ren hmm” Morgana starts to think “ok i’d like to make a deal”

“A deal?” 

“Yea I help you take out the king and give you pointers about palaces and you help me out in the real world”

”I think I’ll pass”

”Huh?? Why?”

”i know enough about this world and these palaces I’ve been scoping through them for more than a year”

”t-that’s longer than me” morgana’s ears go down “I guess you don’t really need me”

”well I have to go back to the real world May our paths cross again” ren leaves the distorted world leaving morgana to himself

”you’ll see just you wait”

**_Shujin Academy_ **

“ **A bit harsh don’t you think** ”

” _I think he’ll just slow us down and we don’t really need help the shadows were pretty easy themselves compared to back in Kyoto so I think we’ll go by fine_ ”

as ren walks back to the station not realizing that he was seen reentering the real world

“What the?”

 ** _Leblanc_**  

ren enters Leblanc after a bit as he was working and decided to come back to Leblanc to study for a bit before he goes to bed

sojiro chuckles “so you’re trying to improve yourself and stay out of trouble.....good as long as you don’t start problems”

”Yea just a bit”

”well I’m gonna close up shop so don’t mess anything up got it”

”alright”

sojiro leaves the store leaving ren by himself

” **so what are you going to do about what we saw back at the castle** ”

”interrogate the volleyball team and see if they are any hints to what we saw”

” **what we saw definitely happened even if it’s a bit of a stretch to what is happening there is some type of abuse occurring** ”

as ren is studying his phone buzzes and he picks it up seeing a wierd cat icon with a couple of messages left behind

[AL:so you’re the infamous soul stealer]

”soul stealer?”

[R:how do you know who I am] 

[AL:surfing all around Kyoto and nearby areas but to think you’d show in Tokyo is beyond me hehe] 

[R:what do you want] 

[AL:i will help you but you must prove to me that your a hero of justice]

” **what’s his aim here?** ”

[R:i don’t understand]

[AL:ughh just do what you did Back in Kyoto and change some hearts or souls or whatever it is that you do]

[AL:but judging from your reaction to Suguru Kamoshida he seems to be your target am I right?]

[R:yea he is the next target but before we go further who are you?]

[AL:i am alibaba here to assist you with whatever I can]

[R:so how good of a hacker are you?]

[AL:ive hacked the government before]

” **seems we’re dealing with something more that what we thought** ”

[AL:anyways you have school the next day so I’ll leave our conversation till tomorrow but quick heads up just say the name and I’ll help you if your in a pickle]

ren puts down his phones and massages his brow

” **it was only a matter of time before you were caught** ”

“I know that it’s just I has to stay on the guy’s good side or else my info will be leaked and who knows what might happen” 

**_A RANDOM STREET_ **

A pink haired girl with a pink sweater on is walking down the street towards a huge building simply mumbling to herself

“Did I really see a person phase into being or was i day dreaming”

She walks down the street until small black and white cat with a yellow collar and blue eyes starts aggressively meowing at her

”do you want me to follow” 

she curiously followed the cat until she gets a headache and when it stop she looks up and sees that the cat turned into a hybrid cat on its 2 legs and the world starts changing colors

”what the what is thi-“

”welcome to the metaverse im Morgana”

”A TALKING CAT???”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided i wanted to change the story a bit and I will even more later on so hope you can enjoy what I have in stores later on


	4. Labels, deals and promises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick notes if it isn’t obvious I’m going to change the story ALOT so I hope you enjoy my version of the persona 5 story

**_Shibuya station_ **

Ren is waiting at the train station when a familiar blonde walks up to him

”hey ren”

”oh hey ryuji what’s up”

”nothing much what have you been doing lately”

”uhh just hanging out studying going to to the gym something like that”

”wait you go to the gym hey can you help me train”

”you going for a sport?”

”no I’ll tell you after school”

After the get off the train to school they walk up toward the school while being eyed at the entire time by other students 

_“the handsome delinquent and the blonde punk wonder what they’re up to”_

_”maybe organizing an attack on one of the students”_

_”maybe Kamoshida is the target but who knows what’ll happen then”_

ryuji sighs “these rumors never stop so they”

”Let them be rumors are rumors”

”how are you so level headed about this I don’t get it”

”it’s how I roll”

”more like sink”

they both chuckle 

“ _hey arsene_ ”

” **hmmm?** ”

” _scout out Kamoshida for me I want to see what he is like_ ”

” **what are you going to do** ”

” _see how far his abuse goes_ ”

” **on it** ”

arsene flies off to find where Kamoshida is while ren and ryuji enter the school

**_Class 2-D_ **

While ren is sitting at his desk semi learning about the topic as he already knows about the material arsene flies back to him

” _anything to report?_ ”

” **it seems he takes his frustration out on others mainly the guys but he also takes his lustful tendencies on the women licking his lips as he sees the female students play in the gym who knows what he has done before our arrival** ”

ren grits his teeth “ _pervy prick_ ”

As he is thinking about Kamoshida mr. Inui points at ren telling him to answer the question 

“so mr. Amamiya what did emperor Nero add to the olympics?”

”oh uh he added singing”

The class stares at him dumbfounded about his answer

”why did he add singing to the olympics?”

”because he couldn’t participate in the other events as we wasn’t an athlete so he added in singing to participate in the olympics ”

”correct, very impressive not many people could answer that as quick as you”

the class starts whispering to eachother impresses to how the supposed assaulter got that right with barely any hesitation 

the day went by as it was now lunch break and ryuji and ren met at the courtyard vending machines

”so can you tell me what did Kamoshida do to you?”

”back before the volleyball team we were known for track and I was the main star it was nice then Kamoshida came”

”what he’d do?”

“He dismantled our team with grueling exercises and training regimens and when I tried to fight back as our team was sick and tired of him he broke my leg and put the blame on me”

ren was gritting his teeth while he squeezed his drink to the point to where it burst open

”Woah! Dude you good?”

”Yea.....just fine”

”if you’re going to fight him don’t it’s pretty much useless as everyone kisses his ass and it makes him practically untouchable”

ren grins and mumbles “just you wait ryuji it’ll all go down”

”I don’t appreciate that evil look of yours it looks like you might rip someone’s face off”

”hmph who knows how far I’ll go”

”I’m starting to question whether your assault was an assault and not an attempted murder”

the bell rings signaling for everyone to go back to their classes

”well see you later”

As ren walks back to his class him And Kamoshida pass by eachother and Kamoshida talks down to ren 

“stay out of my way and we won’t have any problems alright”

ren looks back wanting nothing more than to punch him 

“ _now seeing him grovel will be even more satisfying_ ”

the day goes by as usual but as school ends Ann turns around to talk to ren

”hey uhh ren is it?”

”Yea what’s up?”

”I need to talk to you so can we talk at the diner in Shibuya”

”sure”

They leave the classroom but as they start walking Kamoshida walks up to Ann 

“hey Ann you wanna come over and help me with something”

ren chirps in while Ann is trying to find an excuse “sorry she’s hanging out with other people”

kamoshida starts getting frustrated but still keeps up his friendly facade

”sorry but this doesn’t involve you Amamiya this is just between me and Ann”

”I thought teachers were supposed to stay out of students personal business”

”Tch...you little”

”this doesn’t involve you I suggest you stay out of this and respect our business you out of all people should know that seeing as they accepted the former Olympian as a teacher respect should be second nature unless there’s something else”

ren looks at kamoshida with a smug look on him

”fine” kamoshida backed off and walked away with a frustrating expression

he turns back to Ann with a reassuring smile “alright let’s go to the diner”

Ann still shocked followed “uummm sure”

as the heated conversation was happening several students were watching while one of them was writing the whole situation down on a notepad “I’ll have to see what the infamous transfer student wants with kamoshida”

ann and ren arrive in Shibuya and go up to the diner getting a table in the back

”I wanna say thanks for sticking up for me back there”

”I would’ve have done it for anyone that kamoshida is trying to target”

”so you really are very kind and selfless I guess those rumors aren’t true”

”Yea at least you were one of the people who could see behind labels”

”Yea I would because I have always been the one with the label I’m guessing you’ve heard of them”

”a little yea but I know your not like that”

“Well I’m glad you see past labels and just go for their true outlook but that aside I wanted to talk to you about kamoshida”

”what about him?”

”please stop trying to go after him”

”huh!?!?”

”I don’t want you in some undeserved punishment because you wanted to be hero and stop him it’s not gonna work I’ve tried”

ren starts gripping his hand tighter “bullshit”

Ann looks straight at ren

”that man is going unpunished for all that he has done and I’m not going to stand for it”

Ann looks at ren but with a smile “I guess nothing I will say is going to stop you”

she takes out her phone

“let’s at least exchange phone numbers and chat IDs so we can talk over phone ok”

”sure”

they exchange IDs

“but hey before you go please don’t draw too much attention to yourself I don’t want you getting in jail for something stupid”

”don’t worry I have everything under control”

they leave the diner but ren goes back to shujin and enters the Nav

NOW ENTERING CASTLE OF LUST

” **hey ren** ”

”what’s up”

“ **So after you’re talk with kamoshida I found straight afterwards he went and hit the blue haired kid in your class** ”

”bastard lets get him as soon as we can”

Ren walks up to the gate but not before

”HALT!!!”

Ren looks up and sees 2 figures one of them human sized and the other being cat sized

they jump down and immediately strike a pose the pink haired girl then points at ren

”you are not permitted to go any further than here”

ren is stunned by what he is witnessing “................huh?......”

“we are the phantom thieves” they strike another pose

”ummm Morgana what are you doing?”

the pink haired girl turns to Mona “wait he knows you”

“Sorta”

ren sighs while arsene is laughing to his hearts content even though they can’t hear him

”what are you doing”

”we are going to s-steal the treasure?”

”So you dragged some unsuspecting bystander along I didn’t even know you could do that!”

”wait you didn’t know you could drag people along with you into the Nav?”

”that’s not the point why did you bring this girl to the Nav with you”

”because you wouldn’t help me”

ren sighs while massaging his brow “looks like I have no choice on the matter so I will accompany you so the castle”

”wait we have to give you a code name just in case the cognition of him remembers us and it ports over to the real kamoshida”

”sure so what’s your code names”

”I’m the handsome vigilante”

“And I am b-beauty theif”

Arsene laughs even harder “ **AHAHAHA BEAUTY THEIF HAHAHA HANDSOME VIGILANTE HAHA YOU’D THINK IT BE SOMEONE HANDSOME LIKE YOU BUT ITS JUST A CAT AHAHAHAHA** ”

holding back laughter “I’m not being called something near the lines of that so something short and simple should suffice”

”Yea I agree with him i want another code name”

”seriously but it took me so long to come up with that” his ears went down

”so you’ll be called mona”

”WHAT why can’t it be like _hero_ or _champion_ or something”

arsene has been laughing for quite sometime that if he had a human body his lungs would’ve collapsed by now“ **THIS NARCISSISTIC CAT OH MY-HAHAHAHA** ”

“I think it’s cute Mona-Chan so my name will be noir what about yours”

”oh uhhhh I actually don’t know what mine should be” 

Noir shoots up with an answer “how about joker?”

”joker it is then also who even are you”

”oh I’m a third year Haru Okumura”

”oh so your my senpai well I’m Ren Amamiya you’ve might have heard of me”

he starts looking down

“I’m the one under probation”

”that’s ok”

ren shoots back up at Haru 

“wait it’s ok?”

Haru giggles 

“you seems way nicer than that considering you saved Mona and I’ve seen how you defended that blonde girl”

morgana perks up

”blonde girl like the one in the palace”

“Umm.......yea?”

morgana starts to fantasize before being hit by Haru 

“anyways we’re wasting time so let’s go into the palace follow my lead”

Morgana gets a little frustrated

”why are you leader”

”because I’ve been in the metaverse the longest”

Haru gets a little surprised 

“wait for how long?”

”almost 2 years”

they both stare at ren shocked

”T-T-Two years!?!?”

”let’s ask questions later”

they go into the palace scouting out more of the palace and they reach a nearby safe room

haru and morgana sit down tired out from all the fighting

”ren how are you not tired from all of this?”

”I’ve been training for going into the metaverse I’ve come pretty far”

morgana lays on the table

”judging from your figure and form you aren’t lying”

”anyways we should retreat for now you 2 are way to worn out to progress further”

”you could always go without us” Haru implied 

ren shakes his head

”if I went alone how will you learn about the metaverse and how to fight”

Haru smiles “you really are kind and considerate”

ren smiles back

”heh thanks”

” **smooth kid it seems she is starting to fall for your charms** ”

” _shut it_ ”

They go back to the front gate and retreat back to the real world

”so morgana where do you go after this”

”oh I stay with Haru”

”Yea he stays with me in my house”

morgana starts wagging his tail “her  house is so big and the food is sooooo good”

“Cool wait what do you parents do?”

”my father is the CEO of Okumura foods”

”really!?”

” **it’s literally in her name** ”

”uhh yea but please don’t look at me different I like being treated as a normal person and not a daughter to a billionaire”

”s-sure anyways I guess I have to go so see you”

ren walks off down the street but sees a girl with a black ponytail walk down sluggishly with several bruises 

“ _hmm she doesn’t look ok I should ask her is she’s good_ ”

” **I see going for multiple women huh smooth kid smooth** ”

” _I will release you_ ”

” **ok ok calm down there** ”

As ren was having a conversation in his head the girl in front of him collapses on the street

” _shit_ ”

” **shit** ”

The girl finds her self with something cold on her head and herself holding onto something warm as she open her eyes with an ice pack tied to the bruise on her cheek and herself being given a piggyback ride

”h-h-h-huh?????”

”oh you’re awake you collapsed on the street to I was carrying on my back to the nearest drug store sorry if I spooked you”

“t-t-that’s ok just please let me down”

ren sets her down on a nearby bench while he quickly went to some vending machines and bought some water and goes to sits down with her 

ren gives her the water

”thanks” 

“no problem”

“so I collapsed?”

”Yea you did so I decided to help you out as I couldn’t leave you on the street like that”

”o-oh i see” she starts to fidget slightly out of nervousness 

“ummm I’m Shiho Suzui a second year”

”oh I’m in your class Ren Amamiya the infamous transfer student with a false charge under his name”

ren sighs

”oh you don’t seems to be as cruel as those rumors set you out to be”

ren looks back at her with a smile

”at least someone else could see the truth”

”Yea.....my friend Ann you know her she’s basically always in the center of rumors but she doesn’t care about them _let them talk doesn’t change me_ she’d always say but I feel like the rumors might be getting to her”

”yea but she is pretty strong so I think she can endure”

”easy for you to say seeing as you do things without any problem”

”what do you mean by that”

”I’ve seen you talk to kamoshida when he was trying to talk to Ann and when you walked with Sakamoto kun I’ve heard you joke about your label and toss it aside as if it was nothing I wish to be that strong but I don’t think I can”

ren smiles at Shiho 

“strength is more than just being numb to insults and not caring how people look at you it’s about overcoming your fears and trying to become a better you”

”I don’t know if I can”

”it’s kamoshida isn’t it”

”how did you-“

”your on the volleyball team Ann told me about it you and the rest of your team have been getting abused”

”did ann say all of that”

”no I just did some personal investigation she told me to stay out of it”

shiho started to tighten her fist and hold back tears

”why....why are you doing this you are already in trouble why risk even more trouble and maybe even imprisonment”

”because my fate has already been sealed why not help others be on a better foot than me”

shiho sat there shocked by how selfless ren was acting that she smiled back at him

”I see why ann gave up on trying to change you”

”hmm?”

“Oh it’s nothing” she smiled at ren

”good”

”oh let’s exchange contact info just in case you know”

”alright then”

they exchanged info and went on there separate ways

**_Leblanc_ **

Ren enters the cafe tired out from going into the metaverse and carrying shiho

”hey kid you seem all tuckered out”

”that’s because I am”

ren slumps over the counter

”long day”

sojiro chuckles “girl troubles”

”not exactly”

”that better be the only trouble you get into otherwise you know what’ll happen”

”Yea i know anyways I’m going to bed”

”well I’m going to close up shop for now so see you in the morning”

”bye”

ren goes upstairs changes his clothing and lays down on his bed face down

arsene chuckles “ **pretty smooth don’t you think having 3 women respect you and succumb to your charms is good** ”

Ren still face down having his voice muffled

”shut it arsene“

ren sat up in his bed 

“what if we got ryuji into the metaverse he seems to have a rebel spirit”

” **why do you want him to join?** ”

”we need more people if we want to do this efficiently and it wouldn’t hurt to add more people we can trust”

” **what about Ann?** ”

”i don’t know if I want to add her or not she seems like a good candidate but what shiho said could she really not be a strong as I hoped”

” **only time can tell but let’s sleep for now** ”

”I’ll try to figure a way to have him join us”

after that ren decides its time for bed and sleeps

**_Velvet room_ **

ren wakes up in his prisoner uniform and stands up to see the 2 prison guards and Igor 

“STAND UP INMATE”

”our master wishes to speak with you”

ren looks at igor

igor chuckles

”my, my how you’ve grown but still is still room for improvement”

”such as?”

”you seem to have some close allies so I want you to do something for me”

”I’m listening”

”add them to your team the more the merrier and it’ll help your rehabilitation and escaping ruin”

”I see, thanks”

Caroline hits the cell

”CHOP CHOP INMATE”

ren goes back to the real world where it has become daytime

”time for school”


	5. A skull on deck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryuji’s awakening a little different from the original but I feel like it was nice nonetheless

Morning

**_Shujin Academy_ **

ren is leaving the station where meets up with ryuji

”hey ryuji”

“What’s up”

”hey can you meet me on the roof after school I need to y’all to you about something”

”cool is it serious or....”

”pretty serious so see ya”

ren jogs off to class leaving ryuji 

“this dude is way too mysterious”

The day goes by with not much happening until lunch break comes

As ren was leaving the classroom to buy some lunch a short brown haired woman walked up to him

”Amamiya san please come with me to the student council room”

”hmmm...can I ask why”

”you can ask when we’re in the student council room now please go”

ren a little startled from how stern and serious she is complies with her demands

**_Student council room_ **

****”please sit down”

ren sits down at the table sitting across from her

”so uh.....”

”my name is Makoto Niijima”

”so Niijima senpai why am I in the student council room”

”because of certain events that have occurred between you and kamoshida”

she slams her hands on the table and stands up from her chair

”so then Amamiya San why were you arguing with kamoshida”

ren without hesitation 

“because he was harassing my friend”

”are sure you know he was harassing Takemaki San”

”of course I do haven’t you seen how uncomfortable she was around him and how he was trying to snoop in someone else’s business”

”that doesn’t warrant a fight between a student and a teacher remember your position here you are under probation one slip up and your in jail”

ren shoots up from the seat and also slams his hands on the table

”You don’t think I know that!”

”of course I do just remember your position in the matter”

”typical of someone like you under the principal’s thumb”

Makoto looks at ren with an angrier look

”what do you mean by that”

” haven’t you seen all the rumors surrounding kamoshida And how all the volleyball team members always have bruises or injuries on them”

”that’s just how sports go”

”even after practice they seem to get enough injuries and bruises to surpass injuries in professional volleyball don’t you think that’s too much of a coincidence”

makoto sits back down realizing what ren said

”no you’re wrong......”

ren walks towards the door

”take a look and keep your head out of the books once in awhile and realize what is happening out here”

ren open the door to leave

”anyways see you”

the door is shut with makoto sat in the chair seeing how ren’s point is correct and needs further investigation 

“why.....why do all of this when you’re at such risk for expulsion and jail time”

ren returns to class after eating a sandwich he bought and sits down 

ren sighs

” **she seems to be a handful** ”

” _more like a pain in the neck_ ”

The day goes by as usual

Afterschool

ren walks up to the roof where ryuji is waiting looking at his phone

”so ren what’s this important thing you have to tell me”

ren smirks 

“follow me”

”wait what we just got up here no you wanna go down”

ryuji sighs

”fine”

ryuji and ren walks downstairs past the courtyard into the alleyway in front of the school 

“umm hey ren why are we here in the alleyway”

before ryuji could question further ren presses the MetaNav app and transported to him and ryuji to kamoshida’s castle

**_CASTLE OF LUST_ **

”w-w-woah WHERE THE EFF ARE WE??”

ryuji looks up at the giant castle in front of him not knowing how to react

“Welcome to the metaverse”

ryuji turns around to find what seems to be ren but in a black overcoat and a white mask covering a part of his face

”ren is that you?”

”Yea it is me I’m just wearing a mask”

as ryuji is in awe to what he’s seeing Haru and morgana walk up

”I was wondering what the noise was”

”umm ren who is he?”

”oh this is my friend ryuji I thought he’d be good for our group as he has the same disdain for kamoshida as I d-“

”A MONSTER CAT!!!”

”YOU IDIOT IM NOT A CAT”

ren coughs to bring the attention towards him

”anyways welcome to the metaverse ryuji the realm of people’s real perception of the things around him and for people like kamoshida they’re as messed up and insane to have a palace of this size”

ryuji holds his head

”this is crazy though to think this would exist in his heart but it shows how much of an asshole he is”

”so? How do I get an outfit like yours?”

Haru smiles at ryuji

“Well you have to have a rebellious heart”

ren grins at ryuji 

“and I know you have what it takes to have be rebellious”

”so your saying I have this power inside of me”

”yea”

morgana mumbles

”for some reason”

after some attempts for ryuji to awaken his persona he starts to give up

”I don’t think he has what it takes joker are you sure he’s the right fit for the team”

”I know a way to truly awaken his rage”

”follow me”

”hmmm hey wait you guys are going in”

”you want to beat kamoshida right?”

”of course I do that’s not even a question”

”then follow”

Ryuji although reluctant to follow but went anyway as to not be left alone in whatever world he was in

they headed inside and walked towards the dungeon downstairs and as they head there ryuji observes all the jail cells and the students in the cells

”so is this what that bastard think of the team”

“That’s not all”

haru walks down a hallway where grunts and screams of pain can be heard from 

ryuji looks as the volleyball team is being shot by cannons, hit by volleyballs while they accept it as they can’t defend themselves 

“what is this”

”this is how he views the volleyball team and how he treats them”

”he sees them as prisoners for him to toy with”

”bastard..BASTARD!!!!” Ryuji hits the cages out of frustration 

“you can’t free them if thatnos what your going for they’re not real in the first place only what he thinks of them”

As they we looking at the cages of screams kamoshida’s shadow walks in 

“well well looks like you’re trapped nowhere to go nowhere to run just like some useless pawn or some stupid cattle”

kamoshida points at the group

”GAURDS EXCECUTE THEM”

ryuji chuckles as a blue flame engulfs him

” _it’s time for your revenge to those who rejected you now then show them what you’re really made of_ ”

”your right”

” _now chant with me I am thou_ ”

”thou art I”

” _let your inner desires flow_ ”

”and wreak havoc”

” _you seek power now then our pact shall become true_ ”

kamoshida looks on with anger “Tch...this on too?”

ryuji then falls over holding his head in pain

” _NOW THEN RAISE YOUR SKULL OF REBELLION IT SHALL BE YOUR FLAG AND WREAK HAVOC ON THOSE WHO DESERVE IT_ ”

”HELL YEA PERSONA!!”

a skull mask shows up on ryuji’s face and he rips it off revealing a new biker thug outfit

”Let’s go CAPTAIN KIDD!!!”

”GAURDS NOW”

ren chuckles as he sees his persona 

“ **looks like it was a smart decision to include him along** ”

”Yea, now then let’s take them out”

“Right” both haru and morgana both say after seeing ryuji’s cool awakening

As a bit of fighting the thieves beat the guards but see kamoshida escape 

“nghhh slippery bastard hey ren let’s chase after him”

”we can’t because you just awakened you are  about to-“

ryuji collaspes

”....collapse”

ren and haru have ryuji with each arm over their shoulders while morgana scouts the area ahead for shadows

”they was cool Sakamoto kun you were like one of those action heroes I saw on tv when I was a kid”

ryuji chuckles

“thanks also please call me ryuji”

”oh I’m sorry”

”it’s cool”

ren smiles at ryuji

”knew you had it in you”

”I don’t know man as soon as I saw those guys being pummeled I don’t know my anger just flowed out of me”

”well that’s good as you were able to summon your very own persona”

”wait what does that mean for you guys”

haru proudly says while giving a big smile

”it means you’re part of the phantom thieves”

“The phantom what’s it”

“It’s a thing morgana made meaning those that steal hearts which is what we do”

”so then ryuji”

ryuji looks over at ren

”you willing to join”

”if it means kicking kamoshida’s ass then he’ll yea”

haru giggles “yay!”

”oh yea we have to give you a code name”

”really?”

”Yea in case the cognitive kamoshida someone how remembers us in the real world”

”uhhh that doesn’t make sense to me but I guess I’ll have one”

”what about punk” haru gives a scary look

”nah”

”thug?”

”no!”

ryuji sighs “I’ll just go with skull after my mask of course”

”welcome aboard skull”

”oh yea what are your guy’s code names”

”mine is noir ren’s is joker and morgana’s is mona”

”ok then when we get out of here can you explain what the metaverse is exactly”

”I don’t know exactly mona has given some answers but doesn’t know or remember some others but I think ren can help you he’s been in the metaverse for almost 2 years straight”

”wait 2 years!?!?!?”

he looks to ren with a look of disbelief 

“Wait your telling me from before I met you you had been going in and out of palaces all by yourself”

”basically”

”is that why you didn’t agree to mona’s Request of forming the phantom thieves”

“Yea although I see the fun in having more people tag along now I don’t have to rely on my own or dodge almost every interaction between every shadow I see”

ryuji and haru start thinking and connecting the dots

”wait ren kun you used to live in Kyoto right?”

”Yea?”

”so does that mean you’re-“

ren realizing where the conversation was heading to quickly diffuses the question before it could go on any further

”the guy responsible for the mental shutdown cases no I have been in palaces though and I’ve been trying to hunt him down”

”phew I don’t know what I would’ve done if I realized that guy is one of my closest friends to think he’d murder those people even if what they did is shitty that doesn’t justify anything”

“Yeah...it is pretty bad”

Morgana walks back to the 3 having a nice conversation 

“okay guys our path is clear let’s go”

”Yea lets go”

they return back to the real world

”mannn I’m all tired out from that but I guess we have a new goal”

ryuji punk his fist into the air

”TO TAKE OUT THAT DIRTBAG KAMOSHIDA”

”SHHH not so loud you idiot”

“Wait morgana is that you”

Ryuji points to the black cat with blue eyes in haru’s bag 

“of course it’s me”

Ren also looks at morgana surprisingly ”come to think of it I’ve never seen morgana out in the real world”

”Yea he approached me and took me to the metaverse”

”huh pretty weird but how did you know she had a rebellious heart”

”because she finished arguing with some rich dude in a white suit”

”rich dude”

”y-yeah he is my fiancé”

”fiance??”

”Yea my father is doing a deal with him and he says it will benefit everyone but not for me”

haru looks down at the ground 

ren smiles at haru 

“don’t worry we’ll change both his heart and your father’s”

haru smiles at ren

“Thank you”

”anyways it’s getting late but hey ryuji”

”what’s up”

”let’s interrogate the volleyball team members after the volleyball rally tomorrow”

”count me in Time to get him back”

”stay safe you two and please don’t accidentally get expelled”

”it’ll be fine don’t worry me and ren got this in the bag”

”anyways see you guys later”

ren waves at the 3 who go their separate ways

” **hmmm do tell me how you’re so calm after being called joker once more** ”

”it’s fine although it does leave me empty knowing he’s still out there killing innocents for some useless vendetta”

”Tch I was a fool to help him succeed”

ren looks up at the sky

”wherever he is I will stop him no matter what”

2 years ago

**_??????’s palace_ **

A black masked individual is waiting near what seems to be a palace of a politician with some scandals on the inside

”took you long enough”

”I’m sorry I had to drop my sister off at someone else’s house”

”you don’t need to you know”

”let’s just get this over with”

”after you.....joker”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like the little twist at the end there and big plan for that later in the story


	6. Volleyball rally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A good old game a volleyball right?

Morning

**_Shujin Academy_ **

Ren and ryuji are walking over to school together talking about their next plan against kamoshida 

“so I’ve memorized all of their faces and I’m ready to get some evidence”

ren chuckles “just let’s try not to stand out all that much or else the student council president might investigate you”

ryuji chuckles as well “what do you mean try not to stand out we already stand out way too much considering the two punks of the school hang out with eachother”

”you got me there”

they laugh as they enter the building immediately going into the gym locker rooms and change uniforms into their gym clothes and head towards the gym where a volleyball net is set up and they both sit on the sidelines

ryuji sighs

“sucks how we have to watch him play”

”Yea sort of”

”what do you mean sort of”

”we can see how he treats his team during the game”

”your right but we already know don’t we?”

”can’t be too sure all the time”

eventually the other students and classes pile in the stands and the sidelines where it has became a match between the teachers and kamoshida vs the male volleyball team with some regular students mixed in as well

ryuji looks at the volleyball team as a lot of them have bruises marks and bandages on them 

“these teams seem pretty unfair yet they allowed it”

ren sighs “you think kamoshida did it to get praise from the female students”

”probably” ryuji grits his teeth “knowing his ass”

as him and ryuji talk ren glances over toward ann and shiho sitting on the sidelines watching on talking lightly

”hey shiho are you sure you can play you have some bruises and marks on you”

”no ann it’s fine I can manage”

haru was in the stands watching on how deplorable kamoshida was being as he seems to hit the other team on purpose regardless of their feeling or if they’re in pain or not

” _this is just kamoshida taking out his aggression on the students why haven’t the teacher caught on yet_ ”

the game going by pretty fast as the team with the already injured and exhaustedvolleyball team and inexperienced normal students lost both sets in only 50 minutes with the third set being in the teachers team’s favor as it was 14 - 8

as kamoshida goes up for a spike the other team tries to block it and kamoshida spikes the ball and it his a volleyball team member in his injured knee heaving him hold his knee on the floor in pain as he injured it from how hard his spike was

kamoshida rolls his eyes but walks over to check on him not out of kindness or if he was worried for him as it was all to keep his image intact after his argument with ren that spread like wildfire across the school

”quick call the nurse”

the nurse comes  the student is escorted out of the gymnasium by the nurse

kamoshida then stares at the crowd

”well anyone wish to now participate there’s a spot open”

the crowd stays silent as they look at eachother to see who will volunteer until a hand from the sideline raises

“I will”

kamoshida looks over to see ren with a smirk on his face standing up and raising his hand the crowd then gasp with immediate whispers and chit chatter happening as this might turn out to be one of the most coolest thing to happen ever a teacher full of rumors and a guy under probation

”i’d like to see how a former olympian can do”

Kamoshida then gives a friendly smile but it has ill intentions under it

”are you sure?”

”of course”

” _time to put you in your place you stupid brat_ ”

ryuji was looking at ren with shock and whispers

”dude! What do you think your doing”

”playing a friendly game of volleyball”

”what about laying low”

”don’t know what you’re talking about”

Ren walks away from the sideline over to the court

”you can’t go on me for making too much noise when you’re in the center of attention right now”

ryuji sighs at his friends decision

ann and shiho walk over to ryuji

”umm ryuji why is ren trying to face kamoshida couldn’t you try to convince him not to”

”You think i didn’t try we were just talking about laying low and to stay out of trouble yet here is is front and center where the entire school can see”

”uhhh that idiot even though I told him to stay out of it”

shiho starts to lightly giggle “to think he’d be this hot blooded”

”why are you giggling about this ren is literally put himself front and center”

”beacause we’ve all said something to ren to stop having him being so involved yet he’s over there facing kamoshida at his own game looks like we have no other choice then to cheer him on”

Ann sighs then smiles 

“looks like once he sets his mind to something  he never gives it up”

ryuji chuckles

”bastard I’ll have to knock the sense it to him”

meanwhile in the stands makoto is muttering to herself

”guess he really is just a troublemaker after all”

”oh hey mako Chan”

makoto looks over to see haru coming over to sit down with her 

“oh haru san”

makoto looks over at haru to see her smiling 

“hey haru”

”what is it?”

”your friends with Amamiya San right?”

”Yea what about it”

”is he always like this”

haru giggles and smiles at makoto

“yea he is the type of guy to not give something up even if the odds are against him he pulls through no matter what”

although makoto simply saw this as ren being to stubborn to realize or just him being overly passionate haru really meant to the time where her, ryuji and morgana would take out shadows with ren ordering them around and when they’d get stuck or get downed by the shadow he’d always jump in and take the shadow out and inform the 3 about how to fight and how to dodge or defend themselves against their attacks

back onto the court ren stands onto the opposite side of kamoshida 

“ _hey arsene_ ”

” **what’s up** ”

” _I need you to back me up_ ”

arsene laughs

“ **I love this intensity you have here it’s as if nothing can stop you** ”

ren smirks

” ** _of course nothing can because I won’t let anything cover and block my path ever again_** ”

Unbeknownst to everyone even haru and ryuji ren activated his third eye ability which helps him see all of kamoshida’s movements more clearly and slower which makes it easier for him to react but with arsene adding on to that ability which makes him able to see the exact trajectory of his spikes, his emotions and his movements become even more easier to react to although ren didn’t need this much of a boost He wanted to prove how strong he really is to kamoshida 

the game starts with the ball being on ren’s court 

the ball is then served with kamoshida immediately run over and prepares to spike down immediately 

“told you brat to stay out of my way now it’s time to show you why” he spikes the ball “ _WHY I SHOULDN’t BE MESSED WITH_ ”

as he hits the ball ren appears in front of him

” _wha- where did he-_ “

As the balls flies from his hands ren blocks the spike and it falls down onto kamoshida side of the court putting the score into 14 - 9

everyone in the gymnasium looks at ren the man who blocked the shot with absolute shock as the ball rolls down slowly

ryuji, ann and shiho sat there with their mouths wide open realizing ren isn’t messing around

in the stands haru and makoto look on as the trouble maker assaulter seemed to not be kidding around with this match 

the entire crowd erupts realizing this match between the coach with all the rumors and the troublemaker who doesn’t hide his hatred for kamoshida was going to be more intense they they’d originally thought

ren readjusts his glasses and has a big smirk on his face

“hope you now realize I’m not kidding when I said I wanted to see what a former olympian can do”

kamoshida tightens his fist and mumbles “luck just luck”

after a bit of some back and forth plays the score is now 17 - 24 game point for ren’s team

the crowd is cheering as this once boring one sided match where only the girls cheered has now turned into a historic match between 2 of the most talked about people

as the ball is served from kamoshida’s court if flies over but as it goes over the net ren run up and spikes the ball down onto kamoshida’s court having his team win their first set with the crowd erupting in cheers and ren’s friends cheering for ren 

the second set goes on but just like the second set ren’s team is at an alerting lead being 5 - 17 them with kamoshida getting more and more frustrating 

also on his team was a boy named Mishima he sometimes talked to ren as he helped him here and there so he knew ren was at least some kind of nice and not as much of a delinquent as his label and criminal record suggests

mishima served the ball over and as it’s going back and forth Mishima has a small fight in his mind

” _why is he doing this doesn’t he care for his probation I wonder if this is all for his own self gain_ ”

as the ball end up over kamoshida’s side he sees the hesitant Mishima and spikes the ball as his direction 

mishima attempts to block but is the too late as the ball is flying to fast for him to react so he braves for impact but the impact never comes

Mishima open his eyes to see ren catching the ball with his right hand

”Amamiya san I’m so sorry for losing that point”

ren looks back at him 

“why because we lost a point we still have the lead just don’t be so hesitant next time”

ren smiles at him

”I’ll be counting on you”

mishima takes these words to heart as he is fully awake and prepared for the next serve

minutes go by and the forth set is won by ren’s team now making the last set match point with it now being a 15 point set

bith ren and kamoshida are sweating as they are both trying at their hardest although ren’s third eye does take some energy and is hard to maintain ren has built a high endurance for the metaverse to take out palaces in only a matter of days 

ren trying to cool of takes off his red jacket now exposing how toned and ripped his arms are showing that he isn’t messing around and is about to try his hardest to beat kamoshida

the crowd erupts as the delinquent they had not only had a devilish charm to him but he was also ripped enough for it to be attractive to any girl out there

ryuji, Ann and shiho looks on as their friend seemed to be going all out and has trained hard to be as fit as he is

”umm ryuji was he this ripped when you met him”

”what kinda guy asks another dude to show him your forearms”

as they turn back to the court everyone on the court seems to be going all out by blocking spikes, serving spikes and keeping the ball out of certain people’s reaches the game goes by as a stalemate as it’s been a full 40 minutes even though the score is only 9 - 9 

“ _hey arsene_ ”

” **what is it** ”

” _full power_ ”

” **huh? What’re trying to do with it** ”

” _you’ll see_ ”

arsene chuckles lightly “ **i see the ultimate revenge huh very well** ”

ren third eye goes into full gear as he can now see all of kamoshida’s move in full clear and time has slowed to be a frame by frame reactions 

the game goes by with it being match point and the being served from ren’s side and kamoshida immediately runs up to the net and readies himself to spike 

“ _TAKE THIS YOU DELINQUENT_ ”

as he hits it a blue haired figure blocks his path

”Mishima?”

”I won’t let ren down we've all said something bad and terrible towards him yet he puts all his trust in other people he doesn’t know about”

kamoshida hits the ball but it hits mishima and the ball bounces off of him toward ren who is already prepared to spike the bal

as the ball is spiked it flies to kamoshida and hits him in his ‘package’ where kamoshida immediately folds while ren is sat there shocked at the war crime he’s just committed

arsene laughs “ **that’s where you wanted to hit** ”

” _no I wanted to hit him in the head but o think I put too much power in and didn’t try to aim it in the right direction_ ”

the crowd erupts in both laughter and cheers and ren’s team goes up to thank him for helping the team out 

“nice job Amamiya San”

”that was great”

”you truly saved us”

while ren is being congratulated by the teachers and students kamoshida walks off to the nurse’s office

”brat i’ll put him down like the punk he is”

ren walks over to ryuji sitting at the sidelines

”so then how’s it feel hitting kamoshida”

”heh don’t remind me”

”still renren”

”renren?”

”Yea that’s your nickname but regardless you can’t chew on me for being a loudmouth and staying in the open while you stand in front of everyone’s view fighting kamoshida”

“Yea I guess so then can we stop at the vending machines in the court yard”

”why”

”I’m may have over done myself”

ryuji laughs “idiot”

As they both enter the courtyard ren buys some sodas

”umm dude”

ren finishes chugging his soda “Yea what’s up”

”just how bad did you over do it”

”what do you mean?”

”you’re our on your fifth soda in the span of 5 minutes”

ren burps “I don’t know what you mean”

haru walks in on the 2 sitting down

haru giggles “I see you weren’t showing mercy to him”

haru stares at the bottles of soda lying on the table “or any restraint”

ren then crushes the empty bottle in his hands “I just wanted to beat him at his own game”

ryuji sighs “now look at you all the girls are talking about you how they want a ‘bad boy’ like Amamiya san” 

ryuji then immediately starts shaking ren’s shoulders “ren you should show me to those women maybe I can finally have a girlfriend” ryuji starts to have a big smile daydreaming about the women in the school

”as if anyone would date a slob like you”

a black cat pops out of haru’s bag 

ren looks down as the black cat jumps down onto the table

”that was a nice performance you had ren”

”wait you were watching?”

”I snuck in through the vents”

”is that why you’re covered in dust”

”yes it is but I saw not only your performance but the most beautiful lady in all the lands”

the 2 guys looked at morgana skeptically wondering who the little cat fell in love with

”what breed cat was it morgana”

ryuji starts laughing at ren’s quip

”IM NOT A CAT”

the 2 start laughing while haru giggles at mona’s outburst

”so then mona chan who is the person you fell in love with”

the blonde lady that was talking to ryuji at the sidelines

both ren and ryuji looked at eachother not believing what the narcissistic cat had just said

”hey do you happen do know her? Wait can you introduce me maybe I’ll get to go on a date with her”

arsene is laughing at the cat being in love “ **Hey ren looks like you have some competition** ”

morgana starts doing poses as to show off the 2 guys as arsene starts weezing at the sight

haru looks down at morgana with a smile “don’t worry mona chan I know you got this”

”heh thank you haru then I’ll help you with your problems”

”aww how sweet”

” **wait is she really taking advice from him** ”

”anyways before we go on to the palace I’m gonna go interrogate the volleyball team”

”here I’ll come with”

”no no ren you seemed all tired out you better rest before our voyage”

”alright fine then”

ryuji walks off leaving the 3 by themselves 

“anyways you two we need to talk battle strategy as that there’s that statue room littered with guards that seems almost impossible to get through even with ren’s experience and my navigation”

morgana sighs “we need to find another person”

haru starts to think “you’re right but there isn’t a lot of people we can trust as none of us really know any people”

ren raises his hand “actually I think I know someone”

morgana turns his head towards ren “really? Who?”

ren talks a bit more hesitantly realizing what morgana’s reaction might be “w-well it’s the same blonde girl you saw at the match”

morgana’s eyes start to shine as he realizes he may be able to see this fair maiden after all

while morgana is having a dream of whatever his mind has lingered towards haru speaks up while grabbing morgana’s head to stop his day dreaming 

“so you know this girl?”

”Yea she in my class her name is ann takamaki”

Morgana starts purring her name while he thinks about her “ann takamaki what a beautiful name for a gorgeous lady”

as ren and haru we’re both slightly weirded out by morgana’s actions ren gets a text from ryuji

[hey uh I’m gonna need some backup]

[not able to get a single person?]

[nope I’m running out of options]

[told you to let me help]

[shush man I wanted some glory too]

[omw]

ren gets up from his chair 

“sorry guys i gotta help ryuji with the interrogation”

”ok then have fun”

morgana snaps back into reality “that idiot so useless”

ren then roughly massages morgana’s head “idiot we all have a part to play moment of us are useless”

”Yea yea”

rem jogs off into the building searching through each classroom finding some of the volleyball members but none of them said anything about kamoshida and some even put down ren for hitting kamoshida with the ball until he went back to his classroom and saw a blue haired boy packing up his stuff

”hey mishima was it”

”umm yea im mishima you’re amamiya san right”

”just call me ren”

”ok ren what do you need”

”I need to talk to you with less people around let’s go up to the roof”

”umm sure”

as they walk to the roof ren is texting ryuji

[hey ryuji I got one of them]

[you did? Where are you?]

[roof]

[ill be there]

as they reach the roof ryuji also ends up coming over 

mishima looks at the 2 with a scared look

“ummm wait am I being mugged”

ryuji looks at him confused 

“what makes you say that?”

”you know the two biggest delinquents in the school have me in a corner that and ren is pretty strong”

”okay yea but we’re not gonna mug-“

”Yea we are hand over all of your money and everything that you have”

ryuji looks at ren with a dumbfounded look “wait what’re you talking about”

ren points at mishima with finger pistols

”hand it over or else i’ll have to use these guns” ren makes pistol sounds

mishima starts laughing “ok ok i see you aren’t trying to attack me after all”

”phew we didn’t need even more rumors than what we already have”

”anyways what’s the real reason you need me”

ren puts down his lethal weapons of mass destruction “we need to know what has kamoshida done to you”

mishima looks away “I don’t know what your talking about

ryuji speaks up “you know exactly what we’re talkng about those bruises were from volleyball weren’t they”

”y-y-Yes they were!”

”oh really so you just get even more bruises from practice that shit just ain’t normal”

”listen mishima we need you to tell me and ryuji the truth we going to put an end to kamoshida’s terror”

”how! He’s basically untouchable and no one has told him off even though what he’s has done to the team and some of the women”

both ren and ryuji gasp at what he had just said 

ren was the first to respond

“Your saying that he’s abused women as well”

”it’s only rumors but apparently a female student from 4 years ago switched school and killed herself because of kamoshida did to her but nothing could’ve been proved as there was barely any evidence against him”

mishima was starting to stutter and was very hesitant to the words that were leaving his mouth

”n-n-not to mention all the things that.....that he’s done to the women now in this year and the previous year”

”dude that’s so messed up of him what do you think ren”

”ren?”

ren’s fist we’re tight shut and we’re shaking as his grip was tightening harder and harder by the second

”that bastard he’s not getting away from this”

”what are you going to do ren?”

”keep an eye on him and if he does something”

ren cracks his knuckles 

“it’ll be the end of him”

ryuji is now trying to calm ren down

”hey slow down dude we can’t just beat up a teacher especially with your probation”

”I’m just gonna keep watch of him if he tries something it’s over for him”

”umm I should make sure he doesn’t do anything rash anyways thanks for your info”

ryuji runs off but not before he yells

“I’ll pay you back someday!!”

moshima then looks over at the sky before walking downstairs but a sudden mistake overcomes him

“Wait I should’ve asked them for their chat id’s”

mishima runs off hoping to catch up to ren and ryuji

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoiler for next chapter it will be a bit raunchy as those should know what will soon happen


	7. Regretful decisions

Afterschool

_** CASTLE OF LUST ** _

the team of four were making their way through the palace but instead of ren supervising from the back cracking jokes and poking fun at the other 3 his tone and the way he walked was very serious ryuji wasn’t any better as his fist were on tense and hit jaw was very clenched

”umm hey guys why are you so serious as if you want to kill kamoshida”

ren immediately responds “because that bastard has been much more than just abuse”

”what do you mean by that joker?”

”he might be responsible for the death of a student a couple of years ago”

haru gasps and covers her mouth with her hand “how...how...how disgusting of him”

ryuji then chimes in “Yea now we have even more of a reason to beat his ass I swear I’m gonna make him pay for all that he’s done”

ren then looks at the 3 “Well then thieves lets go take out that pervy shithead”

the 3 cheer on “RIGHT”

the voyage goes as ren is now more active in the fights but they get all tired out and leave the palace after hitting another safe room

NOW ENTERING THE REAL WORLD

they all reappear in the alleyway

”I guess I have been slacking leaving all the fighting to you 3 it’s way more tiring 

”by the way ren have you gone and tried recruiting takamaki san”

”oh uh no i haven’t seen her yet”

”bummer dude”

as ren says that a text shows up on his phone

[hey ren can we talk at the diner again]

”oh looks like I have a shot at this”

the 3 picks their heads up

”did she text you?”

”Yea we gonna go meet at the diner in Shibuya”

”oohhh I wanna come”

”I think if a cat came with me and stared at her the entire time it’ll freak her out”

morgana’s ears droop down and haru giggles “don’t worry mona chan I’ll cheer you up”

his head immediately picks up “sushi!!!”

haru giggles “yes morgana you can have some sushi”

ryuji chuckles “for someone who often says that they’re not a cat you sure do act like one”

morgana immediately turns his head towards ryuji and yells at him “I AM NOT A CAT”

”Yea ok”

The 3 of them start chuckling while morgana grits his teeth at ryuji then haru waves off to ren

”anyways have fun with your talk with ann”

”alright i’ll see you guys tomorrow”

ren waves off as he makes his waytowards the station making his way towards the diner in Shibuya and once he makes it there he sees a blonde haired girl sitting all alone at the farthest table

ren walks up to the table and sees blonde haired girl pick her head up looking towards him

”sorry I’m late” ren says while smiling at her

”oh no you weren’t too late” ann turns her head away

”so what is it that you wanted to talk about”

”it’s about kamoshida”

”what about him”

ann looks at ren with a serious expression “I'm gonna be serious with you in that I need you to stop going after kamoshida”

”this again?”

”yes but this time i’m gonna be very serious to you so i’m not gonna take no for an answer as he’s been threatening your expulsion with me”

Ren’s fist tightened thinking that he would use his situation for his own benefits and mumbles “just hearing you say that makes me wanna go further”

”I still can’t see why you are like this”

ren looks at her “like what”

”you know what how are so confident in yourself it sounds like you already have a plan”

”Yea I guess you can say that”

”but knowing kamoshida your plan will most likely fail regardless”

ren looks at her shocked as her rebellious side he saw in her was fading away “it won’t fail it’ll work”

Ann looks down and starts to tear up while her fists tighten ”and what if it doesn’t what will happen to youhave you thought about that your under probation so who knows how long you’ll be in prison for and ryuji he might get suspended and expelled but I don’t think any other school will accept him and for Okumura san it might stain her father and her company’s reputation”

ren looks right at her eyes “it’ll work I know it will”

”yet you guys are the least careful about it whether it be the volleyball match, you two interrogating the volleyball team and that fight between you and kamoshida in the hallway”

ren looks down realizing that if he slips up he’ll be i trouble and may be sent away forever 

”then if you’re going through with it at least promise me you will keep shiho out of it”

”shiho? Does she mean a lot to you”

”Yea she’s basically my best and only friend I have” ann starts lightly laughing “we met in art class back in middle school and when I was painting she came up to me and said my painting was bad”

“a little rude”

”it was but the important part was that we became best friends after that and we’d always talk to each other and hang out so I treasure her more than anything”

Ren chuckles and smiles at Ann “thanks for the story it improved the mood”

”your welcome” ann realizes what she had just said “w-wait why’d did i say that story to you”

”it shows that you trust me and I appreciate that”

ann blushes and slams her hand on the table “th-that’s not the point!”

”anyways thanks for that I’ll be on my way before my caretaker yells at me”

ren waves Ann goodbye and exits the diner while Ann slumps down into her chair 

“jerk how come he’s so positive about these things” ann giggles “and I guess I can’t back down either”

Although ren didn’t know but his words resonated with ann 

Shibuya streets

ren was walking down the streets towards the train station when he gets a message on his phone

[so how’s the heart stealing going ;)]

”so you can listen to my conversation through my phone shame guess I’ll have to buy another one”

[like that’ll work I can always check the shop at night for your phone]

”you got me there”

[anyways I’m guessing your conversation with ann didn’t go as planned]

”no it did not”

[so do you like her? :DDDD]

ren a little hesitantly responded

”no I do not”

[ooohh did I hear some hesitation ◕‿◕]

”no anyways what do you even do on your free time besides stalk me”

[oh the usual of watching anime, stalk your friends, play some games, hack into heavily encrypted and guarded military bases and sleep]

”none of that sounds usual”

[like you can talk phantom thief -_-]

”better than hacking into government outposts”

[touche]

”anyways I’m gonna go talk to sojiro so later”

[have fun ^오^]

”weirdo”

 

Afternoon

**_Yongen Jaya_ **

Ren walks into Leblanc to see sojiro wiping down the bar

”hey boss need some help?”

sojiro looks over at ren

”uhh sure just put on your apron”

ren puts on his apron and helps out sojiro with cleaning the cafe once their finished with the cleaning sojiro smiles

”so your father was right about you”

ren looks at him confused “what do you mean?”

”your father mentioned how you were handful but I guess he was messing with me”

sojiro chuckles “seems you aren’t as much of a criminal after all”

”thanks boss I appreciate it”

”anyways for helping me I’ll show you how to make some coffee”

”really? that won’t be too much trouble for you right?”

”don’t be so worried about others some people might take advantage of that”

ren runs the back of his head “heh my bad”

”anyways here’s the basis to coffee making”

sojiro shows ren the basics of coffee and how to make a good cup although ren’s first try at coffee making was sub par it was still a good step to being a good barista

after a bit of coffee making they both clean up and close up shop

”ok kid I’m gonna leave the store so”

”don’t mess up anything got it”

”heh anyways see you”

meek walks upstairs them changes clothes and gets ready for bed as he slumps down in his bed 

“hey arsene”

” **Yea** ”

”you were scouting kamoshida so what happened”

” **after the game he went to the nurse’s office and once he recovered he took his frustration of losing on the players and that shiho girl** ”

”what about her”

” **keep an eye on her judging from his looks it seems he has a chain on her** ”

”Yea it seems with ann and shiho being friends and shiho being on the volleyball team he seems to try to manipulate ann”

“ **He may already have** ”

”Yea I can see that from my first day here how kamoshida is towards ann”

” **you think he’ll make a move** ”

”let’s hope not but I guess I’ll skip palace exploring to scout both Ann and shiho and see how he acts towards them”

” **smart plan but you should also talk to alibaba** ”

”why?”

” **he may be some use to us in this operation** ”

”ok I’ll contact him ”

before he can pick up his phone his phone rings

[first I’m a girl and second what do you need?]

“i need you to survey me, kamoshida and these two girls Ann Takamaki and this other one Shiho Suzui”

[any reason I couldn’t make out whoever you were talking to]

”oh uhh we believe that kamoshida might try something on either of the two so I need to to keep tabs on both and report back to me please”

[ok commander amamiya I hear you loud and clear]

ren sighs but gives a small chuckle “good this’ll help me with the operation anyways I appreciate so good night”

[sweet dreams :)]

” _considering I have 2 people stalking me I don’t know if I can_ ”

“ **Ouch** ”

**_VELVET ROOM_ **

ren wakes up and is again in prisoner uniform 

“UP INMATE”

”our master wishes to speak to you”

ren looks over at Igor who is laughing

”it seems that an obstacle will appear in your way tomorrow”

”good thing I can prevent that right?”

igor laughs “as long as you keep on your guard up you can but if not the obstacle may prove itself formidable to your rehabilitation”

”can you tell me what it is?”

”no I can only say that it’ll be very tough if it isn’t taken out”

”is it kamoshida”

”that’s for you to figure out”

”looks like I’m gonna skip palace exploration”

”ok take me back now you two”

”be careful out there”

”NO SCREWING AROUND INMATE” 

Morning

ren is transported back to the real world where it is morning time ren gets out of bed and gets into uniform

ren walks downstairs to see sojiro stocking up the shelf’s with a plate of curry and a cup of coffee on the table

”thanks”

”thank you for helping around the place if you keep that up maybe i’ll allow to stay out more”

”oh uh thanks”

”your dad mentioned how much of a lady killer you are so consider it a gestured sorts as your dad phrased it”

ren blushes while looking away and rubbing his head “how nice of him”

ren eats his breakfast and puts the dishes in the sink before leaving

on his way to the station ryuji is standing by the platform when he notices ren 

“hey renren”

”hey ryuji”

”So we going to the palace today??”

”oh boy said even louder so that everyone in the station can here you”

”sorry man I didn’t mean to be so loud”

as ren is scolding ryuji about being a loud mouth a feminine voice butts into their conversation

”I see you two are as troublesome as you are in school”

both ren and ryuji turn their head to see the short brown haired senpai walk near them

”oh hey Niijima senpai”

”are you two keeping up with your studies”

she stares daggers at ren “especially after a certain someone got into a fight with our volleyball coach”

ren steps back a little “don’t worry about us we’ve been studying”

”I don’t know about you but sakemoto kun over here his grades aren’t the greatest”

”oh don’t worry I can tutor him so we’re fine”

”oh really?”

”Yea yea my grades are pretty nice so I can easily tutor him”

ryuji looks at ren with a suprised look “wait you do?”

”yes ryuji anyways the train is about to come by soon so we’ll be heading off so see you at school” ren pushes ryuji toward the stairs into the station

makoto stands there pondering to herself “he’s hiding something I’ll have to investigate myself”

ren forces ryuji onto the train and they luckily find some seats

”phew we got away from but you need to learn to quiet down sometimes”

”my bad I didn’t think she’d pop up outta nowhere”

”anyways your grades aren’t that good hmm?”

”oh uh yea they aren’t the best”

”you remind me of one of my Kyoto friends”

”ooh is he cool like me”

”no he’s a shut in loser who barely escapes failure”

ryuji eager face turns to gloominess “but I’m not a shut in”

”your right your just a bit too dense”

”cold man really cold”

”that’s what you get when you almost expose our cover again”

”I guess so” 

they both laugh as they take shot at eachother’s masculinity 

after a bit they arrive at the station on the way to school

”oh hey ren”

”what now”

”you said you can tutor me right?”

”Yea”

”can you do me a solid I’ll treat you to some ramen”

”sure consider it a thanks for joining the team”

”anytime man”

they walks up towards the school and their oaths separate as they go towards their own classes

 After school 

the day goes by as usual and the school day ends but ren then gets a message from the group him ryuji and haru made where haru had sent a message

[hey so are we going to the palace]

[cant I’m going kamoshida scouting]

[oh any particular reason?]

[i feel like he might try something today]

[ok then me mona and ryuji will train in the metaverse]

[good Luck have fun] 

ren walks over to the school gate 

“ _hey arsene what’s the scoop_ ”

” **shiho is in the gymnasium practicing by herself and Ann has left school** ”

“ _what about kamoshida_ ”

“ **In the PE office** ”

” _good”_

“anything to report alibaba?”

[ann was in a conversation with kamoshida and it wasn’t pretty he tried to convince her to sleep with him]

”asshole”

[but it seems she said no]

”then I’ll just look after shiho then”

ren walks back into the school and enters the gymnasium where kamoshida seems to be trying to speak to shiho

As kamoshida is about it take shiho out of the gymnasium ren blocks the path and puts on a fake smile

”hey you two anything your gonna do?”

kamoshida puts a fake smile but is visibly frustrated as if he just got out of a call

”oh nothing I’m just going to teach ms suzui here”

”oh really” ren smile fades and he puts on a serious face “a repeat of the incident 2 years ago huh”

kamoshida looks at him with a frustrated look as if he was tired of his face and him being in the school

”what incident”

”the incident of a second year who switched schools after an incident involving a teacher and then she jumped off her apartment building the main suspect was the PE sub but the PE teacher had admitted it was him and was found guilty and was sentenced to life in prison”

”so? The teacher obviously did it”

”then explain this”

ren plays a recording that alibaba had sent him on the way over to the gymnasium 

in the recording you can hear someone who sounds like kamoshida and another gentleman who seems to be taking all of his insults and commands

{your gonna take the case for me or else your daughter will be gone}

{p-please Suguru don’t touch her whatever you do pleasen}

{I’ll do her just like I did with that other girl you think I won’t} 

{no no just don’t hurt her}

{then take the case}

{f-fine then I will}

the recording ends and kamoshida is seething with anger while shiho who sat in the middle was horrified with whatever she just listened to

”how did you find that you little shit”

”I have my sources so if you’ll excuse me”

he grabs shiho by her hand and kamoshida stands there turning red as the anger was circulating him and it took all his effort to not punch him so he punches the wall nearby as they left causing his knuckles to slightly bleed

ren walks shiho to the school gate before he stops and turns to shiho with the same smile as he usually has

”that was a close one huh”

”what was that”

”oh the recording it was the legal case against the school for the death of a girl who was raped by the previous PE teacher but it was most likely by kamoshida himself”

”that....that is awful”

”anyways come on let’s go to Shibuya”

”wait why for what reason?”

”I believe ann is there”

Shiho looks at him disgustingly ”wait how do you know?”

“From the same person who told me about you”

he shows her His phone and his conversation will alibaba when a new message pops up from her

[REN EMERGENCY ANN SAID YES TO HIM COME AT THIS LOCATION XXXXXX XXXX XXXX]

ren looks at the message and almost without a beat grabs shiho’s arm and runs towards the station 

“wait ren why are we running and I can’t keep running like this”

As they run they see a white sedan go into the other direction at a good pace 

”ann is in trouble and just made one of the most stupid mistakes she could!”

“Like what”

”she accepted kamoshida’s invitation to sleep with him”

”w-what!!”

”just keep running we can make it to the station”

they reach the station and make their way to the next station and then make their way to alibaba’s location

a couple of minutes before 

Ann had her hand in her lap as kamoshida threatened shiho’s starter spot if she didn’t sleep with him but she declined and tried to call him but 5 missed calls later and she was sobbing in her lap when she got a call from kamoshida and immediately 

“wait Kamoshida please reconsider shiho’s starter spot please!!”

{i don’t give a damn about her spot but I will suspend her and expel that amamiya kid if you don’t do as I say}

ann heard his name and she froze as she was thinking about it

” _that bastard he’s using ren to get me to sleep with him but who knows what kind of hell ren will be put through soI have to say yes I have no other choice_ ”

”fine I’ll do it”

{good meet me at my apartment in half an hour} 

the call ends and Ann is sat there wondering if this was the right decision or not but she walks towards his apartment as it was close to Shibuya 

Present time

both ren and shiho were running as fast as they could down the streets of Shibuya and going toward the housing area but were getting caught in waves of people and traffic 

They make to a street but the light turns green and cars are going through

“ren we aren’t going to make it”

”then I guess I’ll have to do this”

”do what?”

Before he could tell her ren disappears from shiho’s sight as he went into the metaverse to where the location alibaba sent him and then reappeared in the real world

as ren reappeared he saw ann step into his house and the door locks itself

“bastard I’m too late”

[no your not]

”huh what do you mean”

[the lock uses a keycard as well as a key so I can open it]

”arsene check It out for me”

” **ON IT** ”

as ren is waiting for aliaba to open the door arsene flies back to him

” **you need to hurry they’re on the second floor and kamoshida is tearing her clothes off** ”

”I don’t have time for this!”

as ren is about to kick down the door the door is unlocked from alibaba hacking and ren bursts through immediately heading upstairs to where a door is slightly open and some crying is heard

‘oh come don’t be like that we haven’t even started yet’

ren kicks the open and the lights in the entire house shut off due to alibaba hacking the entire houses’s interior

ren uses his third eye to see in the dark and once he sees him only footsteps could be heard

“Huh? What happened to the lights-“

before kamoshida could answer his own question a fist is slammed across his face knocking him out cold and the lights turn back on with ren looking at Ann covering her chest as her jacket and hoodie was taken off but her bra was still intact and everything else was still on

ren was panting and breathing heavily as he was out of breath from running and going in and out of the metaverse and using his third eye ability 

“i....made....it”

ann starts crying as she was being covered by a warm jacket

”let’s go before he wakes up”

ann simply nods as she puts on both her hoodie and ren’s uniform as her other uniform was still intact but she chose to wear ren’s shirt instead

ren took all the remaining evidence of his entrance and made it look like kamoshida was sleeping even though his nose was bleeding and it looked like a murder scene and he escorts ann down the steps just as shiho was running towards the house and she was panting as she made it

”ren......how did you?”

”I’ll explain later”

before she could question him further she sees ann with her tears still coming out and instinctively she runs up to ann and hugs her also crying as she realizes what kamoshida was about to do to her

“ann why did you do all of that”

in between tears ann tried to explain her situation “i....i...i did it because he-he was going to suspend you and expel ren”

”he was?”

”Yea and I did it to keep you both safe as I didn’t want ren to know or worry about me”

ren looks back at the two with a smile “jerk you couldn’t keep a secret like that I would’ve gone even further than a punch”

both ann and shiho giggle at ren as he truly was kind and selfless

”anyways let’s go before he wakes up and investigates”

”oh yea ren how did you disappear like that?”

”oh yea it’s the-“ before ren could respond he collapsed onto the ground as not only was his body exhausted from running, going into the metaverse and out and his third eye usage but these past days he hasn’t been getting enough sleep 

”ren!” They both say as they could hear ren mumble as they pick him up and hoist him over their shoulders 

”my bad looks like i pushed myself to my limits” he laughs

”idiot I guess we can stop for something to eats right?”

”please......food........hunger.........energy”

the two girls giggle as they haven’t seen this side of ren before and it was cute to the two of them

shiho and Ann both get a message from a mysterious cat like icon

[hello I am alibaba the person who assisted ren with saving you]

”oh this is what ren was talking about”

”huh??”

[here take him to this address]

“Wait it’s is yongen Jaya?”

[yes it the Leblanc cafe it’ll be good for the two of you as you both live near there]

”shiho how does he know this?”

shiho simply shrugs her shoulders as she couldn’t figure it out either and they both walk the exhausted ren over to the station and make their way

**_Leblanc cafe_ **

Sojiro was cleaning the place as he was getting ready to close up shop until he heard the bell on the door ring and he turns over to tell the person that we’re closed until he sees two women one of them with blonde hair both holding ren who didn’t have his shujin jacket on 

“wait wait wait what happened”

”oh uh ren here kinda ummm uhhh”

shiho pauses as she couldn’t think of an excuse

”he collapsed”

ann couldn’t think of another excuse as that was the best one she could come up with

sojiro simply smiles as not only was ann wearing a shujin uniform but it way bigger than her size so it looked like a kid wearing their dad’s oversized shoes 

“ahhh young love at it’s finest”

ann looks down and sees how large ren’s shujin uniform really was and blushes at what sojiro had said “n-n-no that’s not it”

sojiro laughs at the poor girls display but doesn’t take it further as that would be mean of him to do

”here take a seat I’ll get you guys some food”

the two women dump ren into a booth seat as they both take the seat across from him as ren’s consciousness was returning to him as he a took a slight nap on their shoulders 

“where are we?”

”home” sojiro laughs while he is making the curry and coffee 

“wait did you guys carry me here?”

ann gives a serious look as she knows where he was going to take the conversation and she wasn’t gonna take it

”of course what do you think we were going to do leave you passed out on the sidewalk and consider it a reward for helping us so don’t try to go above and beyond with your helping”

shiho laughs at the thought of ren knocked out cold on the sidewalk 

ren rubs the back of his head and laughs as well “I’ll try but thanks for letting sleep on your guy’s shoulders”

”consider it a thanks for what you have done for us and I hope you enjoyed it to the fullest extent because that’s might be the only time you get to sleep on our shoulders”

they both blushed as the ren sleeping was adorable to them and it took them all that they had to not attempt something on ren

”here you go it’s on the house for taking this troublemaker home”

Sojiro places down the 3 plates of curry and cups of coffee in front of them

”thank you mr.....” ann smiles at sojiro

”boss is fine”

”thanks boss”

the 3 starts digging into the curry

shiho squeal as the curry was one of the best things she’s ever had in a while

”ann this is so good!”

”i know this is really tasty I’m so jealous ren gets to have this everyday”

sojiro laughs “well I appreciate the compliments and I’m teaching ren how to make it so maybe he can make some for you two”

”really! Ren we should hang out and-“ 

as she stared at ren her words cut off as ren was scarfing down the curry as if he hadn’t eaten in years and he wasn’t letting a single breath of air in as he was eating

sojiro was shocked as he has never seen ren not savor his curry before 

“hey slow down kid no need to rush”

as sojiro was saying that ren put down the empty cup of coffee and the fork which had just took the last scrap of sojiro’s curry as nothing else had remained besides the utensils

”that....was....good”

shiho was shocked at the speed and quickness of ren eating his curry that it could be world record kind of speed

”you really did overworked yourself huh?”

”Yea I kinda did” ren laughed as realized what he had just did 

“just try to take it easy ok”

both ann and shiho out their plates in the sink and say their goodbyes but not before ann gave ren his shirt back 

“she was nice and pretty hmm”

”which one?”

”the blonde one”

”oh uh yea I guess so”

”good luck with that anyways I’ll wash the dishes so go up to bed casanova”

”r-right” 

ren was blushing as he walked upstairs

arsene was laughing at his display 

“ **so how was the little ride you took?** ”

”you saw didn’t you”

” **no you were unconscious so I couldn’t see either** ”

”huh so when I’m unconscious you don’t appear”

” **Yea I go to sleep and wake up when you do** ”

”what else do you feel from me?”

” **your emotions and your mental state as in drunk spicy or hallucinating** ”

”huh so you do feel apart of me”

” **well I am the other you** ”

”right, well anyways I guess it’s bedtime”

” **see you onto the other side** ”

ren lays his head down and goes and wakes up in the same cell as always and the two wardens are congratulating him

”I see you’ve made us very proud inmate”

”our master wishes to praise you for your work”

ren walks over and looks at Igor and Igor laughs and claps at ren

”well done you’ve escaped potential ruin and risked your salvation for others I shall commend you for that”

”is that all that there is what about my rehabilitation?”

”your one step closer to reaching salvation at this pace you might definitely escape ruin the more you work the more you can ensure your safety on the future”

”cool so should I add them to the team?”

”that is for you to decide”

”alright well then take me back”

”NO SLACKING INMATE”

”right Caroline”

ren is then sent back to the real world where it is again morning time 

“alright or for the plan to go into motion”

” **plan?** ”

”I’m gonna see if I can awaken both of them”

” **good luck with that** ”

”how supportive of you arsene” ren says sarcastically to arsene

”anyways today should be hectic”

ren gets ready for school then chows down onto his breakfast and says his goodbyes as he leaves for school meeting with ryuji again as the castle should be falling soon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoped you enjoyed my rendition of the whole shiho scene as I didn’t want shiho to be taken out as I thought that was as a hard part to go through in the game so hope you enjoyed this section of the story


	8. Panther and raven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you couldn’t tell it’s awakening time enjoy these awakenings

Morning

_**Shubuya streets** _

Ren is walking with ryuji to the station as they stopped on the way to the station

”hey ren follow me I want to show you something”

”what is it now”

”so you know how that toy gun I have you worked in the metaverse”

”Yea what about it”

”well there’s this store I wanna check out we have time to kill”

”sure why not”

They walk into he alleyway where the see a store called Untouchable but before ryuji is stopped by ren

Ryuji looks over at ren who has a serious face as if he was scolding a child

”ryuji wouldn’t it be crazy if anyone saw us buying guns and bringing them with us”

”but we’re just looking around and they’re not even real”

”but what would happen to us if anyone saw us”

”it’s fine no one will see us”

ren drags ryuji off back to the station as if he was a kid being dragged out of the store by his mom

”we can look at it after school but if we came with our uniforms who knows how the shopkeeper might react with”

”alright also how was the scouting yesterday”

”oh uh.....it was fine”

”fine? Tell me what happened”

”I can’t disclose the events you’ll have to ask ann”

”ann? Wait did he do something her wait don’t tell me the incident repeated again”

ren snaps as he didn’t want to hear the ‘incident’ ever again and kamoshida was able to feel some of ren’s wrath

”No I made sure it wouldn’t happen by punching him in the face!”

although What ren said was loud is wasn’t loud enough for the other bystanders to hear and stare at him but loud enough for ryuji to gasp at ren’s outburst

”woah dude that sounds intense but I think i’ll ask her in case for her permission sounds like a sensitive topic for you”

”shut up”

”aww come on renren”

ryuji puts his arm over ren regardless of ren’s procrastination 

“so then ren what’s ann to you?” Ryuji said with a very smug look as he knew that his friend would eventually get a catch

”just friends ok now hurry on the train is here”

ryuji was laughing at how flustered ren was being as he was always so confident and smiled half the time and seems mentally invincible 

on the way to school ryuji was still teasing ren about his outburst while ren was yelling at ryuji for yelling that stuff out loud until they reached the school and went to their own classes

Ren walks up to his class and slumps down into his desk and Ann turns around to face him and talk to him

”hey ren so you said something about disappearing right?”

”we’ll talk about that later I need to show shiho as well”

”ok sounds good but what about him?”

”I don’t know what happened to him do you think he remembers”

”let’s hope I hit him hard enough to not remember it”

ann giggles “still that must’ve felt good right”

”Yea it was”

as they were talking ms kawakami walked in to start the class

Afterschool

As ren sat down in the courtyard as he said for both ryuji and haru to meet him in the metaverse while he was getting ‘supplies’ for the trip

as he was drinking some juice both ann and shiho walk up to the table ren was sitting at

”so ren will you explain how’d you disappear like that from yesterday”

”I still don’t believe he disappeared like that”

ren chugs his drink and throws it into a nearby trash can “follow me”

they both look at eachother before following ren down to an alleyway next to the school

”umm ren why are we in an alleyway”

before she could get an answer the world around them changed colors and both of hold their heads in pain and once they recovered they look and see the school turn into a giant castle 

“is that the school! What happened to it”

shiho still hasn’t her mouth wide open as she can’t believe what she is seeing

”welcome to the metaverse a place of distortion and the home of people distorted thoughts like kamoshida’s” 

they turn around to see ren in his phantom theif outfit which both didn’t mind as ren looked cool in it

”ren is that you?”

”in the flesh”

”wait is this where you went to when you disappeared”

”basically”

as they were admiring ren’s outfit 2 human figures and a cat walk out of that gate 

“ren is that you we heard some racket and wondered what-”

before he could continue further they saw ren with two other women one of them was immediately in the sights of a certain feline who was already in love with her before but now he could show off his ‘bravado’

”r-ren why are they here!!”

”skull not so loud they might hear us”

”my bad but still why are they here though”

as they were asking for answers the feline next to them was fantasizing about the blonde beauty in front of him

”oh wow wow” morgana purrs “she’s here”

before he could talk to them they notice the 3 of them and in unison both shiho and Ann screamed

”A MONSTER CAT!!!”

”I’m not a cat” the poor feline’s ears drooped down as both of the women called him the dreaded c word and he hated it but since they were women his inner gentleman pulled through

”wait that blonde hair I know that is from is that ryuji??”

”Yea and the pink haired girl is”

”I’m Haru Okumura a third year” she bows down “it’s a pleasure to meet you two”

”oh uh I’m Shiho Suzui” shiho bows down out of respect for her kindness 

“ok enough introductions why are they here still”

”oh uh can I tell the story”

”umm yes please I can’t say it”

ren tells the story of why they’re in the metaverse also causing ryuji and haru to hold back morgana from running into the palace looking for kamoshida after the story is told haru walks up to ann and holds both her hands

”I’m so sorry for what you went through”

”no no it’s ok ren saved me”

”well it wasn’t a choice it was a necessary thing to do as a thanks for being someone who didn’t judge me for being a criminal”

”well anyways why are you guys dressed like that?”

”oh this is because we’ve awaken our personas”

”personas?”

”they’re out hidden selves here I’ll show you ZORRO” a giant man with a rapier pops out of morgana

shiho gazes at him in amazement “woah cool”

Both haru and ryuji Simmons their personas which wow both ann and shiho

”So are we able to get a persona?”

“As long as you are a rebel to society as these masks are a symbol of our fight against crooked adults and societal standards”

”but how are you here”

”that I do not know but I do know as I have lost my memories and all I can remember is that I’ve been in these palaces for about a year now”

”a year??”

ryuji laughs “this might shock you but ren algae been at it for two years”

they both turn towards ren “wait ren you’ve been at it for two years”

ren grins “yea I was always lone wolfing palaces like these”

”wait how many palaces have you been through??” Ryuji said as he hasn’t asked this question before

ren scratches the back of his neck “uhh about like 10”

”jeez you really have been pushing yourself” haru smiles at ren

”Yea well now I have a team so I can rely on them and not have to solo them all the time and evade being spotted the whole time” 

“So you’ve really pushed yourself huh” ann said while looking gloomy

”Yea but now I have you guys”

ann looks up at ren with intense determination“alright now then it’s time for me to help you also”

shiho follows what ann does and also has a serious look “time for us to shine”

”are you sure you need to be fully ready to go against society”

ann immediately speaks up almost interrupting ren “of course especially since the fact that I’ve been stepped over and used and almost lost my identity to kamoshida and I’ll never let that happen again”

shiho also has a determined look “same here i let my best friend down and let her be vulnerable I can’t let it happen again that and I’m not gonna be a way for other people to get to my friends”

”yes that’s the way let all your anger out and it should come to you” ren said encouragingly 

as both were ranting about their troubles and how it wasn’t going to happen again they both stop at the same time and start holding both of their heads

“ **That’s right he almost stole from you the most precious thing a women could have its time for you to stop holding back** ”

”I hear you...no more holding back and no more being weak and being sad”

” **I am thou, thou art I, our contract shall be forged** ”

”no more holding back”

” **no more restraints** ”

”time to show kamoshida what happens if you mess with me”

while on shiho’s end

” **I see you finally realized what you were lacking** ”

”passion? Confidence?”

” **but now it seems you have figured out the ways of revenge but know you just let that boil in your heart** ”

”yes I hear you”

” **now then let it flow and our contract shall form** ”

a red cat mask formed on ann’s face while a black bird mask formed on shiho’s

they both rip their masks off revealing their persona one being a seductress with two puppets on chain and was exposing some cleavage on her black and red dress while the other was a queen with a gold crown a spear and shield in either hand and had a green robe across her white dress

”Carmen!”

”Boudica!”

as they both summoned their personas they look at eachother and gleefully cheer as they both had personas now but it was short lived as when ann turned to face the others both ryuji and morgana were staring at her chest while haru had her mouth covered by her hand in shock shiho wasn’t better as she saw pity in her smile and she turned to ren who was a bit shocked but still had the same smile on her face she then looked down to see a red latex suit with her cleavage being out there for anyone to see 

ann immediately sees how ‘outgoing’ her outfit and immediately covers it up

”w-why am I wearing this”

”that’s what you think a rebel looks like”

”a dominatrix???”

”that’s what you think one is and it’s also what your true personality is”

”can I change it?”

”nope”

”no fair you guys get these cool outfits while I get this seducer outfit”

”I guess your hiding a seductive side of yourself” ren laughed

ann blushes “shut it”

”at least you have something covering your legs”

they turn and face shiho who had a leather tunic on covering her back, chest, shoulders and waist, brown boots, a green blouse under her tunic and a green and black checkered skirt covering her up at least to the top of her knees knees

”your outfit at least covers you completely” she then eyed ann’s chest “well almost everything and green’s not even my favorite color!!”

”well sucks to suck guess you’re stuck with it” ann says with a smug look

”like you have room to say anything when you’re wearing a latex suit”

”shut up, ughh I hate this I wanted a cool outfit not this”

ren coughs to grab their attention “well like I said before these are based off our personalities ryuji’s is based off a punk gangster haru’s is based off a dignified and classy thief and mine is based off a gentleman theif”

”Yea I could see that but am I this shameless in real life?”

”who knows maybe there’s a side you keep to yourself” ren laughed “anyways let’s go back”

ryuji whined ”aww cmon I wanted to go into the palace man”

”ryuji don’t you remember what happens after awakenings”

”oh yea they should collapse from exhaustion”

as ryuji says that both Shiho and Ann collapse on the floor from exhaustion

Shiho yawned ”jeez why am I so tired now”

”when you awaken your persona it basically uses all of your energy so you have to rest before you can go on in”

ann pouts “no fair I want to kick his ass”

“Well you guys both collapsed from exhaustion so it’d be safer if we leave now and regroup tomorrow it’s Sunday so we should be good”

”we now have some more team members though so we should be good” haru exclaimed 

they all leave the metaverse and come back into the alleyway they started from

”so then lady ann will you be accompanying us” morgana said excitingly 

ann said a bit annoyed by morgana calling her lady ann “yes I will but please don’t call me lady ann it’s very annoying when I hear it”

”yes ma’am”

anm sighs while everyone else laughs

“seems you have a gentleman who would date you” shiho giggles

”not funny”

”anyways before we get carried away let’s all meet her tomorrow I’ll put everyone in a chat room together so we can make a time for all of us to meet”

Ryuji smiled as he really wanted to pummel the PE teacher ”alright then I guess I’ll see you guys tomorrow” 

haru smiled at ryuji’s impatience to beat up kamoshida

”all right see you guys tomorrow”

they all went their separate ways to home

* * *

**_Yongen Jaya_ **

Ren walked into Leblanc to see sojiro reading the morning newspaper as the last customers had left a couple of minutes before ren’s arrival which was perfect for ren because he wanted to get on sojiro’s friendlier side

”hey boss I see you’re still reading the morning paper”

sojiro looks up to see ren and puts the paper down

”I see you’re fine as well”

”so then boss can you teach me some more pointers”

sojiro smiles at the boys eagerness to learn

”grab an apron and I’ll show you the ropes”

after a bit of sojiro’s teachings ren makes a cup for sojiro and serves it to him

sojiro drinks the cup and doesn’t show any face of disgust 

“a fine cup on par with those of regular low standard cafes”

”is that good? or?”

”it’s good some more practice and you should be on par with higher end cafes”

”nice anyways it’s closing so I’m gonna clean up you just head on out”

”oh alright then just don’t-”

”break anything or I get the boot I gotcha”

sojiro shocked at ren’s responsibility and forwardness simply just chuckles and locks up the shop 

ren wipes down the counter, puts the stools up and washing the remaining dishes in the sink

“ **You seem to be working hard** ”

“If I want to repay sojiro for taking me in it’s the least I could do”

ren puts away his apron and walks upstairs changing into his sweatpants and white t shirt

”you think kamoshida will act on monday”

” **most likely seeing as you may have broken his nose so keep on edge** ”

”I should probably text ann about it”

ren pulls out his phone and goes to ann’s text icon and opens her messages

[hey Ann good time or no?]

after a little bit

[oh no your fine what’s up]

[has kamoshida texted you or called you?]

[no surprisingly I haven’t even heard him]

[good just making sure in case I have to punch him again lol]

[haha alright I’ll let you know]

* * *

**_Ann’s room_ **

a little while before ren texted ann she was in a call with shiho 

“Shiho how do I repay a guy?”

[A guy? Ren??]

Although shiho couldn’t see ann was blushing she could tell she was 

“n-no not r-r-ren it’s definitely not ren”

[ann you stuttered there do you have eyes for him even though you guys have met for only a week]

”no it’s not that”

[oh my sweet little ann watching a bit too many damsel in distress movies again?]

”NO stop please”

[ok but let it die down a little you can’t go for him now wait a month or three then he should see you]

ann was covering her face with her hands “shiho I said stop”

[hehe still at least try to somewhat seduce him you have that suit for a reason]

”shiho i swear the next time I see you I’m gonna pinch you”

[dont worry ann I’ll be your wing girl]

”dying really is on your agenda”

[please don’t hehe]

as ann was threatening shiho a buzz from her phone she looks at it and realizes it’s ren

”oh wait ren texted me”

[maybe he’s asking you out]

”shiho!”

she opens it and sees his text

[whats his text say?]

”he’s asking if I’m up uhh what should I say”

[just say yea im up]

”uhhh but he might think I’m too simple”

[i don’t think ren would care about that]

”you don’t know that!”

[oh ann you poor soul experiencing love for the first time]

”ok I sent him a text”

[what'd you put?]

”No its fine what’s up”

[wow I thought you didn’t want to be too ‘simple’] shiho said sarcastically 

ann didn’t respond to shiho’s jab towards her words as she was responding to ren

[uhh ann you alright over there?]

ann sighs in relief “Yea I’m fine”

[what'd he say]

”he was worried if kamoshida was texting me or calling me”

[i see he worries for you a lot that’s a good sign]

”shiho shush”

shiho giggles [anyways ann good night I’m gonna go to sleep so we can get ready for tomorrow]

”night” she ends the call and then sinks into her bed grasping her pillow

” _have I really been like this_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoped you like shiho’s awakening I based her persona off a Celtic queen who revolted against the Romans for the rape of her and her daughters and it felt right with her as that is what happened to her minus the daughter part so I think her getting her revenge on kamoshida felt suitable and needed


	9. Ryuji’s shenanigans

* * *

Morning

Ren is outside of Leblanc in his casual attire preparing for his journey to kamoshida’s palace when he gets a text message from ryuji 

[hey let’s go check out that gun store again]

” **you think he knows about weaponry** ”

” _might as well we are going to need supplies_ ”

[sure I’ll see you soon]

as ren sends that message he walks over to a building with an elevator

” **hmm where are we going** ”

” _there’s an apparent clinic around here that could sell us supplies_ ”

” **I never thought about remedies for our journey so might as well use them** ”

”that’s because we have a group now and not everyone can dodge for too long”

ren enters the clinic to see a dark blue haired women in a white coat writing down some things on her clipboard

” _here goes nothing_ ”

ren walks up to the lady and she stares up at him and eyes him down

”welcome, what do you need”

”I heard about a certain enhancing drug you made and I want some of it”

”follow me to the examination room”

” **she seems like a harbinger of death then a doctor with those eyes** ”

ren sits down onto a chair she set down for him while she sits down into her own chair next to some computers and some cabinets

”now then why do you need these?”

”oh um for my studies and I need to focus more”

”hmmmm really now”

”yes I do”

”all right then you seem to be a good subject to test on”

”I’m sorry what”

”here I’ll give you some medicine as long as you test some new medicines for me”

”will those medicines kill me?”

”no it’s fine I think”

”you think!”

”so then do we have a deal?”

”sure” ren reluctantly said as he wasn’t looking forward to what the doctor had in stored for him

”good now here’s some of these drugs they should help you study” she hands him some packets 

“uhh thanks ms...”

”just call me doctor...doctor takemi”

”ok doc well I’ll be on my way now”

ren leaves the room and goes down the elevator 

“ _I feel like she saw through my lie_ ”

” **looks like you’ll be her personal lab rat** ” arsene laughs

” _you’ll still feel some of the effects so don’t laugh so soon_ ”

” **but you’ll take the full hit of them** ”

”Whatever let’s meet up with ryuji”

_**Shibuya station** _

ren steps out of the train and explores around the place as he never had time to whether it be ryuji being ryuji or just the train was coming soon so it was time to explore around

“The underground mall sure has some things around it”

”hey there’s a jewelry store check that out”

”sure not like I could buy anything”

ren walks into the store and seems an assortment of necklaces, rings and other accessories as ren’s looking around he notices a woman with red and white converse, black slacks and a white hoodie hood up negotiating with the clerk behind the counter for a necklace

”it’s 30,000 yen for one love charm”

”I’m sorry ma’am that’s how much it is”

”shoot I shouldn’t have bought all those parfaits”

”ma’am can you not pay for it?”

”no I’m 10,000 short” she said in a gloomy tone

As she was about to put the money back into her purse she sees a hand out an extra 10,000 onto the counter

she looks up at ren who is smiling at her 

“I see your in a pinch”

”oh you don’t need to do that”

”no it’s ok your buying a love charm I see”

”y-yea”

”so if you’re passionate about your love you can’t give up as long as you keep that love for them make sure they notice you for you and they should see your the one for them”

she blushes “y-yea”

”this love charm should help you as long as you keep that love for them in your heart you’ll succeed”

she says more confidently but still is as red as a beet “Yea!”

the clerk takes the money and puts the necklace into a small bag and gives it the girl

the girl turns to ren and bows to him “t-thank you for your kindness”

”it’s no big deal so go out there and try to make your love notice you”

”right!” She runs off with the bag close to her and exits the store

” _hope she has good luck with her love life_ ”

” **you’re so dense it’s laughable** ”

” _hmm?_ ”

” **oh nothing Romeo let’s just go meet ryuji** ”

” _I’m missing something aren’t i_ ”

” **just walk** ”

” _but-_ ”

” **WALK** ”

ren exits the mall and goes up out of the station and into the stations square and meets up with ryuji who was just standing there loitering around

 “Alright ren you ready to check out the store”

”sure just don’t get us dismembered”

”don’t worry I’ve been there before”

”alright then let’s go”

they both walk into the streets and go into the alleyway where the airsoft store is located

”so then here we are”

”ok then let’s go”

”wait before you do” ryuji grins and ren while rubbing the back of his head

”do you know anything about the military”

”wait are you saying you wanted to go into a gun store without any knowledge of guns or the military”

”basically”

ren and arsene facepalm at ryuji’s inability to think ahead and how he charges things head on regardless of the task

”ok let’s just go in before people notice us and get suspicious”

they enter the store which had racks of different types of weaponry, headwear, gear and other assortments of items

Ren eyes down the place as he’s never been to a store like the one he’s in right now

”hey there can we buy a gun”

” _he just goes straight for it_ ”

the man behind the counter with a green jacket white hair and beard and a hat puts down the paper he is reading and eyes down ryuji 

“I don’t know I shouldn’t serve high schoolers”

”but I bought something the other day”

”don’t remember you”

”aww cmon can we at least buy something”

the man sighs “fine what would you like”

”what’re your recommendations”

”what kind of fun you looking for automatic? burst?”

”why are you talking about cars”

ren sighs then steps into the conversation “ryuji let me do the talking”

”sure”

the man looks at ren “so then kid what do you want”

”I’ll take a 9mm replica particularly one with a 9 round cartridge and no barrel attached to it with a black grip and silver lining”

the man a little shocked by ren’s knowledge simply smiles “coming right up”

he walks away to the back room to get the gun while ren looks over at ryuji who was gobsmacked at his sudden pick

”you didn’t tell me you knew about guns”

”well i liked that toy pistol you gave me so I wanted a newer one”

”ok I guess I’ll let the shopping tonyou here some cash for my weapon try to get a shotgun for me”

”ok”

the man comes back to the counter and hands ren the pistol

”ok then kid here you go”

Ren examines the pistol and how it looks similar to the real deal

the man holds out his hand to ren

”names Iwai the owner I see you’re an enthusiast so I’d like to make a deal with you”

ren shakes his hand “uhh sure what’s the deal”

”you do some jobs for me and I’ll give you access to my entire stock”

”sure I guess I’m Ren Amamiya”

”ren huh?” Iwai smiles “we’re gonna be good business partners”

outside the shop ryuji is waiting outside of the store texting at the other in the groupchat

[Ry:so you guys ready for the palace]

[H:yep also I got a weapon for me as well]

[Ry:all right so then ren doesn’t need to buy something for you]

[A:wait weapons?!?]

[Ry:Yea some weapons for the road ahead]

[S:don’t you think we’re good enough as it is]

[H:doesn’t help to be prepared]

[A: guess I’ll be waiting at the alleyway]

as ryuji finishes texting the others ren comes out of the store with a bag

”so ren you picked out the weapons for us”

”yep anyway let’s go to the alleyway”

”alright let’s go”

they make their way back to the subway and arrive towards the school and enter the alleyway and go into the metaverse where the 3 women and morgana were waiting

”so then guys what did you buy?” 

Ren pulls out the bag and tosses the weapons to both of them

”for ann I got a machine gun and for shiho I got you a huntsmen’s rifle”

they look at the weapons that ren had tossed them 

“you bought guns? Wait how’d you even get these??”

”not important but mona said that as long as the weapons looked real they can be used like the real deal”

”indeed as the metaverse behaves in that way that the shadows think they are real guns so they act in the same way”

”huh cool” ann points her gun in different poses and positions 

“also why’d I get a rifle”

”oh because you have a spear so I thought another ranged weapon would suit that type of fighting style”

”huh I appreciate that thought” shiho feels the weapon as she had never handled a gun before even if it wasn’t real

”hey haru what weapon did you get?”

”oh! my apologies” she pulls out a giant MGL grenade launcher that shocks everyone

”umm haru is that the real deal” ryuji said a little startled

”was I not supposed to buy the ‘real deal’?”

“That’s a real grenade launcher how’d you even get your hands on one of these?!?!” Ann said in astonishment of the fact that she had a real grenade launcher in her hands

”oh my maid was an agent for the military and she gave me one of these for my birthday”

“wait wait wait your maid was apart of the military and gave you an effing grenade launcher and you kept it?????” Ryuji’s mouth was wide open from the shock of the innocent girl’s intense protection by military specialists who could kill you 12 different ways with one hand alone

”of course it was a gift”

”how old were you?”

”I think i was 9”

”who gives a 9 year old a grenade launcher I don’t believe it”

morgana said while shivering “believe her the maid is so scary”

”she’s not that scary”

“Her eyes are the same eyes of murderers and serial killers”

”mona don’t be so mean to her”

”but she’s terrifies me”

haru pats mona’s Head 

“It’s ok mona chan”

“ok let’s go in before we’re distracted any further but first we gonna need some codenames for our new members”

”right we gonna have to give you two codenames and I have just the names”

ann looks down at morgana “really what’s our codenames”

”cat girl and green warrior”

the 5 of them sat not thinking of any words to describe mona’s horrible names for the two of them while arsene was having none of it by laughing as hard as he could

” **THIS DAMN CAT AHHHH** ”

”so then I’m guessing we shall go into the palace now”

”hold it” ann said in a serious tone

”hmm what’s up lady ann” Morgana turned around to face her 

“I refuse to be called cat girl”

”same I will not be referred to as green warrior”

morgana stepped back in shock to how they threw away the names he spent so long in thinking about

”you guys have any names for us?”

”sexy cat and leather owl”

”NO!” They both said simultaneously at ryuji’s names

”we should go for simple like ours so then” ren eyed down both of their outfits which had ann fidget and look away from ren out of embarrassment 

“how about raven and panther”

the two girls looked at ren and excitingly agreed to both of those names

”ok then it’s settled let’s go forth”

”it took me so long to come up with those names though” morgana’s ears flopped down in sadness

they entered the place from a collapsed wooden structure that led into the second floor as they entered they sneaked around and encounter a shadow who was patrolling the hallway

”ok so then I’ll hang back and I want you guys to follow Noir, mona and skull’s lead I will give you pointers from the back and if guys get overran by shadows I’ll step in”

”you act like you could take these shadows on head first”

”I could but it’s good training for you guys”

Ren looks over the corner at the shadow” I’ll take the first move”

ren moves runs up towards the shadow and does a backflip onto the shadow’s shoulders and takes his mask off

”NOW!”

they all run up towards the shadow an preform different moves onto the poor shadow and taking it out although not in the most efficient way possible as they wasted some sp and are currently bickering with eachother about the takedown

”panther why’d you shoot it so damn close”

”I yelled for you to get out of the way skull”

”as you shot it which almost hit me”

”you guys can we please stop arguing with one another it’s not proper”

”in a bit noir because I almost lost my head in that fight”

ren intervenes in the argument a bit frustrated by their sudden unnecessary fight by chopping their heads to get then to stop

”ouch”

”ow dude why’d you hit me”

”because your argument is way too annoying and your doing it wrong”

ren sighs and then looks over towards mona and noir 

”noir and mona let’s show these guys how to fight in unison”

”watch closely lady ann”

they sneak around and see another shadow and the three run at it with ren taking off its mask then haru running at it spiking it with her axe to stun it while ren and morgana hit it with a small spell and they both finish it off with a perfect in sync attack finishing it off without any trouble

”there did you guys watch it”

”Yea that was cool but how are we suppose to do that”

”here you 3 you’ll be with me on the next shadow just follow my lead and take my orders”

”right” they said together

the next shadow comes by and ren takes off it mask 

“Raven”

”Kouha!” She shoots a bless skill

”skull and panther”

they both run up towards the shadow hitting it with their weapons

”all together”

they all jump back towards a distance and shoot it with one of their spells making the shadow disappear in the process 

“that was nice”

”Yea joker you should attack in more”

”I was gonna lay back and teach you guys how to fight after your done with the shadow but with this many of us I guess I’ll have to take charge”

they all proceed further in reaching a locked room which ren picklocked open

”I see joker you are prepared for any palace”

”I’ve been at them for 2 years so I’ve had a lot to study about”

mona a little frustrated by how handy and cool joker is being sees how lady ann is reacting to ren decides to make up a plan to get her to look at him

the next shadow comes by with mona gunning for it to show how ‘macho’ he is

he ends up trying to get its mask but hits it’s armor and falls to the floor

the shadow turns around and looks down to the cat that bumped into him confused on how a cat got up this far

”that idiot cat”

ren runs up kicking it in the mask breaking it in the process while hitting it with a strong curse spell and destroying it

ren turns and looks down to the sad cat still laying on the floor 

“mona you can’t run at it like that”

mona simply just sighs and gives ren a nod ren stands there a bit confused of the cat’s sudden actions

” **I think he’s jealous** ”

” _jealous of what?_ ”

” **you of course** ”

” _does he just want to be in the spotlight_ ”

” **his narcissism really holds not bounds for him kinda like how clueless you are to his real intentions** ”

” _what?_ ”

” _ **oh ren you can be a true heart thief but you don’t understand what a rival of love is**_ ”

” _why do you speak_ ”

They continue further and hit a third floor safe room

”ok seems we can leave now but how far do you think we are mona?”

”more than halfway”

”good that means in like two or three more palace trips we can take on kamoshida”

”alright then let’s leave then now that we can”

they exit the castle and leave the metaverse spawning back into the alley they started from

shiho is stretching her arms and looks over at ann and sees something shiny under her shirt

”hey Ann what’s under your shirt”

although ann had put on her red sports jacket to hide the fact that ren bought her the necklace

”oh uh a necklace”

”can you show me?”

”later I’m tired right now” ann looks away with slight blush

”oh really now” shiho noticed her reaction and could tell something was up “anyways boys we shall be on our way haru you come with us too”

”oh uh sure but I need to give mona to ren”

”wait why?”

”mona said he wanted to talk with ren about the plan and what he knows about the metaverse”

”ok sure we can hold up”

haru then returns to the two with a grin as she now has some friends who she can help and rely on

“So then ann do you want to tell us about that necklace you have there?”

”a necklace?” Haru said with curiosity 

“It’s nothing” ann said while trying not cave in to shiho’s aggressiveness to the topic

”hmmm.............LET ME SEE” shiho said as tried grabbing at ann’s neck trying to pry the necklace

”shiho stop fine I’ll tell you” ann said reluctantly but knew that shiho wouldn’t give up in her pursuit

”good”

haru looked at the two but gave a smile as they weren’t fighting amongst one another but were just playing around

”so then ann what’s with the necklace”

”it’s a...love...charm” ann couldn’t say it without pausing as she was embarrassed by it”

”a love charm but didn’t you say you don’t believe in those types of things”

“Well I heard that it had a high chance making your dreams become true but that’s not the embarrassing part”

”oh what happened ann chan”

“Well” ann told the entire story of how ren bought her the necklace but didn’t know it was her and how he gave her love advice

shiho and Ann started to laugh and giggle at ann’s poor predicament 

“so he saw you wanted to buy it then gave you 10,000 yen to pay for it”

”but ann chan do you happen to like ren?”

”n-no well maybe”

“Ever since ren has protected her from kamoshida those times it seems she fell in love with him and in the whole damsel in distress manner too how basic of you ann” shiho mockingly grins at her

Ann looks at her trying to come up with a remark of her own against shiho ”shut up shiho you wouldn’t understand”

”actually I do as he helped me a couple of times”

”wait with what?”

shiho tells the two about the times when ren helped her with when she collapsed or when kamoshida tried to bait her in to the PE office

”it seems ren cares about us very much”

”maybe helping others out is just second nature to him”

”that would make sense but ann seems to have it lucky as ren specifically helped her out with numerous things if only I could ask out someone as handsome as him”

”I have to agree ren is a looker but he seems to have more than just his face that is desirable”

”Yea like how his arms are really toned and fit I wonder how hard he works out at the gym”

ann was sat in the middle of the two having this conversation but was blushing pretty hard at the thought of ren

”hey haru we should stop talking about ren before ann combusts into flames”

”agreed” they both giggled at Ann trying not to look painfully obvious

”oh ann”

**_Ogikubo ramen shop_ **

both ryuji and ren we’re sitting down at the bar eating down ramen as the cat sitting in ren’s bag was hearing their awful slurps

”could you guys eat any better than that”

ryuji said while still chewing onto his ramen

”w*nom*hat do you *nom**nom* mean”

”talk without your mouth full ape”

”ok monster cat”

”IF WE WEREN’T IN A RESTAURANT I WOULD CLAW YOU”

”and you say your not a cat yet you use the same tools as one”

”I swear ryuji”

ren was sitting happy as can be eating the ramen and listen to the two of them bicker

”it’s not like you can do much you can’t even get a date”

”Yea I could as I have a manners unlike you”

”what was that??”

”ryuji stop yelling or people are gonna look at you weird for yelling at someone’s bag”

”fine” ryuji looks around to see two pretty ladies at a table

”hey renren you wanna try to ask out those ladies you have the looks for one of them to maybe ask you on a date”

ren looks to the women at the table “they seem to be having a good time without you barging in”

”but they look like high schoolers just like us we have a shot”

”you can take your shot I’m not firing mine”

”you’ll see” ryuji gets up and walks towards the table

” **ryuji seems to be good friend** ”

ren lays his head onto his fingertips as if thinking of something or just being frustrated by him

” _more like a nutcase_ ”

”yoohoo!! reeennnnn!!”

ren looked over to see ren grinning and waving towards ren with one of the women giggling at ryuji’s attempt to win them over

”this idiot” 

Ren sets down his bag with the cat inside as he makes his way towards the table

”here’s the guy I was speaking about”

the two girls looked at ren

”hmm so then what’s your game here..ryuji was it?”

”yep that’s my name” ryuji said eagerly

”so then a date is it tat you want hmm?”

”yep me and my friend ren here are willing to go on a double date with either you two” ryuji said while having his arm over ren’s shoulder

”hmm okay I’m game what about you” she looked over at the other girl who wasn’t looking at ren’s direction

ren sighs “you owe me for this ryuji”

”this is what I owe ren two pretty ladies and we get to go on a date with them”

The girl speaks up to her friend “Okay i guess I’ll do it as well”

”okay then here are our numbers”

”the talkative one exchanged her number with ryuji while the quiet girl exchanged hers to ren”

”well then boys hope to see you soon”

the quiet one of the two spoke up to ren

”I’ll see you some time then ren”

”sure”

they got up and left the shop

ryuji sat there crying tears of joy at the fact his attempt to get a girls number worked

”ren would you look at that we got some girls numbers”

”ryuji we’re gonna have a talk about restraint or else” ren cracks his knuckles “there will be more than just tears of joy coming out”

”but ren we got numbers from girls”

”what about haru, shiho and ann”

”well you got them for me so that doesn’t count”

they put the money for their food on the counter and left the shop going their own ways back home 

as ren was walking a certain cat poke its head out of ren’s bag and peeked over ren’s shoulder

”seems you got a date”

”i hope it was fake”

”at least we both go ladies now”

”you have one?”

”I’m working on my way for lady ann to notice me and love me”

” **cats can dream big** ”

”anyways let’s make our way home before boss yells at me”

”boss?”

”I’ll explain later once I explain you to him”

ren walked on to the station and went back to Leblanc explaining how morgana is a friends cat that he’s taking care of while she is sorting out her issues and they go to bed soon after once sojiro closes up shop


	10. Deadline

**_Velvet room_ **

ren sits up in his prison bed in the same jumpsuit as he always is in

”congrats inmate on one of your biggest steps towards rehabilitation”

”our master shall I’ll give your praise and a reward”

”reward?”

ren looks over at Igor who simply chuckles

”it seems you’ve added to your team and for that o have to congratulate you and I have a gift for you”

”a gift?”

”yes now you can hold multiple personas at once and fuse them with one another to make even greater personas”

”neat but do they also talk to me as well as arsene?”

”not in the real world but in the metaverse they can talk to you and only you”

“good I don’t think I could handle multiple personas bickering together”

Igor laughs “interesting however I also have another gift for you”

”what is it?”

”you can now have two personas at once sort of like dual welding blades but at a cost as it’ll drain your energy even faster”

”cool but will these personas be as strong as arsene”

”compared to arsene no as you’ve grown a lot with arsene in the span of 2 years”

”is that all?”

”yes it is so take care towards your fight against ruin”

”ok Caroline please take me back”

ren is then transported back to the real world and again its morning time the only difference was that there was a cat annoying him about how haru’s apartment was more cleaner and better than the attic of Leblanc 

“cool morgana but you don’t need to always compare me to how rich haru is”

”Yea but you could always clean this place up”

ren says in a joking tone ”jeez morgana if your so demanding why don’t you do it for me”

”because I don’t have hands I have paws”

”that wasn’t a serious question”

morgana quickly tries to play off his sarcastic comment “I knew that I’m not as stupid as you”

”okay bud”

morgana then slips into ren’s bag as they was conveniently enough room for a cat to fit in

”ok then let’s move”

”after breakfast”

”nrghhh fine”

Ren sits down at the counter and eats the curry and coffee sojiro had set for him after finishing he puts the dishes in the sink and leaves for the station 

as they enter the train morgana stares up at the tv where a news story about a mental shutdown case where a train conductor suddenly shut down and the train ended up colliding with another train down the rail

”these mental shutdown cases are pretty serious”

”Yea....”

the train ride was silent as ren arrived at school not meeting up with ryuji so that both him and morgana don’t end up fighting eachother 

ren walks into his classroom and slumps into his seat while morgana jumps into his desk

”you sure that’s fine”

”of course it is I’ve done this in haru’s desk”

”alright then”

As ren is waiting for class to start he gets a message from ryuji

[rennn I think we got catfished]

[good I didn’t want to bother them anyways]

[ren have you even check your number]

[no]

[check it maybe they accepted you]

[later class is gonna start now]

[rennnn]

ren closes his phone as class starts with a topic ren had already known about so he didn’t need to pay attention to it but looked on so he didn’t get hit with anything

passing time starts and ren goes down to the cafeteria to get a sandwich but as he does a familiar coach angrily walks towards him with a bandage on his nose

”amamiya san I know it was you”

ren looks up to him and sees it was kamoshida angrily staring at him

”hmm what did I do”

”I know it was you who broke into my house”

”what I don’t even know where you live that and I have a probation on my head”

”don’t play dumb with me” kamoshida said with a dead serious tone

“I’m not playing dumb with you how was I suppose to enter your house”

”argue with the school once I have you expelled in the next faculty meeting”

”if it’s for the fact that people look at you like dirt now all I can say is that is what you deserve no excuse me I have some lunch to get to”

ren steps past kamoshida who is just standing there silent as their conversation went into ren’s favor

the other students nearby saw the argument unfold and wondered how a fight between the PE coach and the new delinquent would go

Courtyard

ren is sitting at the tables in the courtyard after his argument when haru and ryuji pile in the table ren is eating at

”ren is it true that your getting expelled”

While ren is eating a sandwich he talks but it’s semi muffled “i see rumors spread fast around here”

”ren this is serious if you get expelled you can go to jail”

”don’t worry we can easily knock out he palace in two days”

”ren if you say that you should still be at least somewhat scared”

”being scared isn’t apart of my emotions”

the bell starts to ring and everyone starts heading back to class

ren gets up after eating his sandwich and stares at the two smiling

”don’t worry guys as long as we work together we’ll be fine promise”

ren then leaves the four to sit there wondering about ren

Ryuji scratches his head ”you think ren is hiding his emotions or something” 

Haru looks at ryuji with worry but an understanding face ”ren is very mysterious but as friends we should trust him”

”your right but there is something eating at ren don’t you think”

”maybe but let’s just go with his plan”

they all return the class and as the class goes by with everyone else talking about ren’s fight with kamoshida and betting on who would win between the two

the bell rings and school ends with the entire group meeting at the courtyard table to discuss about their new deadline 

“so then guess we have a deadline to meet” ren says in his regular calming tone

”ren aren’t you worried since if we don’t make it you’ll be in jail” ann said in gloomy tone

”it’s fine I have faith in you guys to make it through” ren gave his trademark smile to relieve the worried group of friends standing in front of him

“Still dude you got to be at least somewhat worried about it”

”i don’t doubt you guys and I don’t have fear in my system as long as you guys pull through with me”

”right”

”good then let’s go on unless you want to waste more time with worrying about me instead of trying to prevent that”

ren goes ahead of them heading to the alleyway 

ryuji scratches the back of his head “jeez he’s  guy is way too cool headed about this” ryuji then gives a big grin “but that’s what we’re in this mess with him”

haru giggles “maybe the fact that he’s so selfless and confident in us is why he can move forward”

“Right we can’t let him down” ann says in a confident tone

”especially you” shiho whispers to Ann making her blush but she still keeps her composure and they all head into the same direction ren had headed in

Castle of lust

they all head up on where they left off taking out shadows with ren’s leadership on combat and energy conservation

while they go ahead of him ren takes out some nearby shadow and takes their mask after holding it at gunpoint and adds it to his own

” **wait ren what did you do?** ”

”add another persona to my arsenal”

” **wait you can do that?** ”

”weren’t you there in the velvet room?”

” **no i wasn’t awake** ”

ren then summons the persona he just got

”kelpie!”

the persona then pops out next to arsene

” **wait you can have two?** ”

”Yea but I can’t have him and you at the same time or else it drains my energy further than I need it to be”

the persona then disappears back into ren’s mask as he puts his mask back on

” **neat trick but are you trying to replace me** ”

”of course not we’ve grown too close for me to release you so easily”

” **good, wait your saying you would release me if you could** ”

”who knows” ren said in a joking tone as he runs up to catch up to his friends 

They walk up a staircase and open a door and see they reached the roof

”woah this is huge but are we supposed to be here”

”Yea but we have more to tread”

”where?”

ren points up to the tower all the way above them “there”

morgana then looks up there and senses the treasure “he’s right the treasure is up there somewhere

”but how are we suppose to get up there joker?” Haru said in a confused tone

”follow my lead” ren said as he jumped upon some barrels conveniently stacked up onto the tower walls and started to scale the castle’s roof making up onto the tower’s staircase like exterior 

“like that”

ryuji then said a little chicken from having to climb a tower scared to what would happen if he fell off “no way dude i don’t think I can do that”

ann nodded in agreement “that’s too high for me I can go up that”

”don’t worry lady ann We’ll do this for you”

ren then looked down at them “don’t you guys want revenge against kamoshida if you do then you gotta act like a phantom thief and steal the treasure no matter how absurd or scary the task is

”right” the two then reluctantly scaled the tower as the other 3 scaled it with no problem

They climbed higher and snuck into an open window entering in and kept going through fighting some more shadow and going further to reach the highest point in the tower reaching another safe room then walking into it

they all looks around to see a throne

”so this is the throne room” shiho said as she stared at the giant room and golden throne in front of her

”hey mona where’s the treasure in here” haru said staring down at the cat

”that room ahead of us last he throne it should be the treasure room”

they make their way through the throne room and head to treasure room where a bunch of gold coins medals and other treasure or items just made into gold and out of all of that a whitish orb floated there in the middle more alien than all the other items as it felt out of place 

“so what’s the treasure then?” Ryuji said confused at what he wasn’t looking at

”your looking at it” ren walked up to the white orb 

“this is the treasure although there is an extra step before we take it”

”extra step can’t we just grab it?” 

“No raven we can’t grab it right now as it’s not here physically as the palace ruler hasn’t thought of his treasure physically”

”so then what now?”

”we send a calling card”

they all excitedly look at ren as if this was the moment they were waiting for

”oh! Like the ones on the buildings in Kyoto” 

”Yea?”

”OOH since were a team can I draw it” ryuji excitedly said

”sure seeing as our team needs to be known”

”so then does this mean that we’ll be over and done with kamoshida”

”yep so we can take it easy after this but for now let’s head back and set up the card for kamoshida”

they all head down and make their way back to the front gate and exit the metaverse 

“so then I guess we shouldn’t have been worried after all seeing as we’ve now reached the end” ann gave a big sigh

”Yea but I’m all pooped out ann let’s get some parfaits the shop should still be open”

ann’s Eyes turn towards shiho “really!” She grabs her arm “Let’s go!”

”wait ann AHHH” shiho is dragged off as ann runs off looking like she might pulled her arm off if she wasn’t careful enough

”I guess they’ll be off but ren I’ll take mona back now”

”oh yea” he grabs morgana out of his bag and dumps him into haru’s arms

”don’t treat me like a toy”

ren then pets his head “sure thing”

”okbthen come on mona chan lets go home”

they both walk off as haru dials a number in the distance probably to call her limo driver

”well then I guess I’ll be off then man I gotta help my mom with dinner see ya”

ren then waves ryuji off as he walks down the street turning the corner notni ren’s sight

” **I’m guessing your gonna go hunting with this new ability of yours** ”

”yep I couldn’t do it before as we were trying to progress further”

” **alright I’ll back your move** ”

ren enters back into the metaverse to go hunting for new personas to add to his collection

**_Leblanc_ **

2 hours later after ren entered the metaverse

Sojiro was cleaning up and was almost ready to close up shop when he hears the door ring and he looks over to see and exhausted ren walk through

”you good kid? you seem all tired out as if you ran here”

”I missed the train so instead of waiting another hour I did”

sojiro laughed “crazy kid here go cool off at the bathhouse I won’t leave yet”

”thanks”

ren then changed clothes and left the shop for the bathhouse

ren enters the bath house and goes into the bath after stripping down 

“ **you really pushed yourself back there** ”

”Yea” ren then lays his back onto the end of the bath

” **comfortable huh?** ”

”yeaaaa”

” **good thing no one else is here or they’d start to question you** ”

”Yea but it doesn’t matter”

” **Seems you got a lot of personas on your side huh collecting them like they were candy** ”

”Yea I wonder what I can fuse them into”

” **depending on their strengths and weaknesses you could use that to your advantage** ”

”still you think we could pull it off”

” **the palace heist of course you can it’s not like it’ll be different then the others** ”

”not that”

” **oh I see what you are talking about who knows he may try to pull more tricks on you if your not careful** ”

”Tch not like I’ll let him I’ll be the one with the upper hand this time”

” **ok then but first get out of the bath before you burn yourself** ”

Ren gets out of the bath drying off his body when he looks at the scar still on his chest

” **if you talking about your image you look more desirable with that scar on your chest then without** ”

”thanks now let’s go before boss gets mad”

ren then leaves the bathhouse and heads back into to Leblanc for sojiro to close up shop after ren headed back inside 

“ **long day tomorrow so rest up** ”

ren then goes to bed as the day tomorrow will really be a make or break case for him as although he’s confident who knows what might happen to the others as they are not as experienced as him


	11. Taking the crown

_**Shibuya**_  

Ren is walking around Shibuya taking another look at the scenery around him and familiarizing with with the city when he enters the underground mall

[hey ren I got the card ready]

[good did you put all the things I sent you]

[yes I think it’s gonna look good]

[good as long as kamoshida sees it we should be fine]

[he better I came in early for this shit this better not be wasted]

As ren is walking around the mall he goes into the convenience store to get a snack while he looks around he sees ann stare at some candy 

“hey Ann”

Ann a little startle looks over to ren who was chuckling at her reaction a little embarrassed 

“oh hey ren what’re you doing here”

”was gonna buy a snack then I saw you here”

”oh....hey ren can I ask a favor”

”sure” 

“can you buy me some??” She gave ren the puppy eyes as she didn’t have enough money to pay for the treat

“Your gonna owe me for this” he gave a smile

” _now I owe you two favors_ ” Ann looked at ren “alright Incase you need some help you can count on me”

”thanks”

After leaving the convenience store their make their way to the train platform 

ann opened her big bag of gummie worms that she asked for and was eating them as happily as could be

“hey Ann can I-“

before ren could speak further a gummie was put into hit mouth 

“yes you can” ann giggled at ren who stood there with the worm hanging out of his mouth and all ren could do was eating the worm that was placed into his mouth 

the train arrives and Ann places the bag back into her bag 

they enter into the train but not fast enough to grab any seats so they stand in the train but very close together as the train this time was packed to the brim with people

they both stood there a bit awkwardly as neither wanted to say anything nor look at eachother

” _how awkward to think we’d be this close to the point to where’s I can almost feel his chest I wonder if he’s muscular wait I can’t think of him like this!_ ” 

Ren wasn’t any better than as a civil war was going on in his mind

” **cmon ren just bump into her it’ll be fine** ”

” _NOTHING IS FINE RIGHT NOW_ ”

“ **Oh ren she seems like a good match for you** ”

”NO NOT OKAY THIS IS TOO FAR ALREADY”

” **ren it’s fine the train is cramp already so she could understand it** ”

” _arsene you ARE THE WORST_ ”

” **don’t blame me for you inner desires I am your personality after all** ”

” _nrghhhh_ ”

”h-hey ren”

ren snaps out of his head and looks down to ann

”y-yea”

”I’m sorry about this”

”it’s fine” they faintly chuckled 

As the ride continues the train wobbles and people start bumping around but for ren and ann they get put even closer together to where their chests are touching

both of their minds are malfunctioning at the same time as neither know how to react to the situation 

” **I see making the first move Ehhh** ”

” _ARSENE I SWEAR NOT THE TIME_ ”

” **They grow up so fast it puts a tear to my eye** ”

” _ARSENE!!!_ ”

while ren was considering dropping arsene as a persona or finding way to get his revenge ann’s mind was in full collapse as all emotions were conflicting with eachother while her entire face was beet red 

“ _W-W-W-Why is this happening to me          he’s really muscular under that shirt  if only I could see what he looks like under it hehe    WAIT WHY AM I THINKING OF THIS_ ”

____________

Aoyama-Itchome i repeat Aoyama-Itchome

____________

the trains doors open and both ren and Ann get off but both have embarrassed expression and Ann has had a beet red face for that whole trip

”s-should we go” ren said a little nervous of what had just happened

”y-yea” ann said as her embarrassed expression went down a little

they walked down the path to school silent and looking in the opposite direction as neither knew how to talk to eachother after that

As they walk together into the school they see ryuji, shiho and haru near the stairs chatting amongst eachother while  a crowd of students look at the red cards placed onto the bulletin board

they look at the bulletin board to see how’d the calling card turned out

’Sir Suguru Kamoshida, the utter bastard of lust. We know how shitty you are, and that you put your twisted desires on students that can't fight back. That's why we have decided to steal away those desires and make you confess your sins. This will be done tomorrow, so we hope you will be ready. From, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.’

they walk away and go towards the group of 3

amn sighs as she looks at ryuji “I’m guessing you wrote this”

”how could you tell?”

”because it’s looks like a kid trying to sound like an adult”

”hey I put a lot of effort”

shiho chuckles “not enough apparently we should’ve just let ren write it the ones the police got back in Kyoto were well detailed and informative”

”I wanted to let one of you guys take the spotlight this time”

as they were talking kamoshida walks up to the the bulletin board as the students step out of his way as he seemed angrier than ever

”Alright who wrote this down whoever did it will only get a suspension”

he looks over to ren and the rest of the group

”you wrote this didn’t you”

”no i came in only a few minutes ago how could’ve it been me”

”wait till next faculty meeting comes and I have you expelled and behind bars you criminal”

he walks away angrily

”so then our plan shall start after school are you all ready for it”

”dude I’m pumped it’s time for that bastard to get what’s coming to him”

”Yea it’s time for my revenge to what he did to me” ann says really confident

haru giggles “it’s fun doing this with friends it brings us all closer together”

”ok well let’s just go to class before people suspect us further”

”I guess see you guys after school”

they all split up going to their own classes and the day settles by until lunchtime

ann is sitting at the courtyard with shiho as they eat the school lunches they had gotten

”hey Ann”

”Yea what’s up”

”did you and ren get into a fight?”

”no why?”

”you two seem pretty distant from eachother today”

”o-oh it’s nothing really” ann looks away trying to hide her blush she got from remembering those events 

“hmmmmmmm” shiho had a big grin as she knew something happened “spill the beans”

”w-what no!”

shiho a little frustrated resorts to her one of her last resorts “I’ll tell ren then if you don’t mind”

ann realizing immediately what shiho is trying to do but seeing as there was no other option left “fine I’ll tell you”

”good now then spill those beans”

ann then explains the events of this morning to shiho

shiho then gives a huge laugh to the ann’s poor luck with these things “I guess that love charm you got is working”

”I guess so but I don’t know how to even go about trying to win him over”

”ann you should just give the guy a month before you try to be hasty”

”you sure”

”of course I mean the guy only came into the school for about more than 2 weeks you can’t win him over like that”

”yet he won me over” ann says as she blushes a bit 

“I mean considering what he has done for you with all those times he risked his future for yours although I wouldn’t say he likes you as being selfless is second nature to him”

shiho then finishes her lunch ”but try to get to know the guy before you go for it”

”that’s hard to do he’s way to mysterious and self reserved”

”I know you can do it just show that seductive side of yours”

”I do not have a seductive side”

”yet you wear a latex suit and control a seductress”

”shiho!!!”

”well the bell is about to ring so see you later” she runs off to her own class leaving ann to think about her feelings for ren

”ahhhh I’m not good at these things” ann then sinks her head into her hands before getting up and going back to class

After school

Once the bell rings for school to end they all go out and meet together in the alleyway before heading off into the palace

morgana sticks his head out of haru’s bag “so then guys we have only one day to do this are you guys ready”

”it’s now or never guys let’s do this”

”Right!”

they all enter into kamoshida’s palace where the security is extra sharp as now kamoshida is on full alert to their presence 

“ok guys let’s go!” Morgana then moves ahead 

as they move on past the gate ren stops as a familiar warden with a baton is gaurding s blue jail cell

”Caroline?”

”inmate its time for you to fuse personas”

”oh yeah I forgot about that”

caroline then opens the cell and ren enters in and gets back into his prisoner jumpsuit

”ok inmate time for you to fuse some personas”

”alright so how do I know what personas I get”

”Justine can show you the list of fuseable  personas with their abilities and weaknesses”

”here is the list of the personas you can make”

ren looks at the list but two personas stand out to him

”ok I’ll take those two”

”strong personas indeed a good choice”

they start the fusion process and ren receives two new personas

ren exits the velvet room and quickly catches up to the others who were calling on him

**_The Throne Room_ **

They all enter the throne room which is unguarded and make their way to the treasure room where the orb has now taken form into a giant crown

”wait your saying we have to carry this out of here”

”maybe it’s big because of his ego” shiho then chuckles at ann’s Insult 

“anyways let’s get this out of here before he notices”

They all lift the crown out of the treasure room and walk down the throne room when

”go, go ka-mo-Shida!!”

the crown is then is hit out of their hands by a volleyball

”wait who-“

kamoshida then flies over them and lands in front of the throne the crown then is attracted to kamoshida 

“This crown is mine the symbol of this castle and I won’t let pests like you take it so easily”

”oh you hehe” an Ann in only lingerie look alike then walks over to him

”that’s we he sees me as!!!”

“Pests like you should just grovel at my feet”

”as if what you rapist d-bag”

”that wasn’t by me though”

”YES IT WAS!”

”the PE teacher took the hit for that one he was already convicted”

”that doesn’t give you any right to choose how people run their lives”

”people like don’t understand how students who want a bright career or the teachers and the entire school can profit off of me what’s wrong with getting a reward for this”

”you’re forcing yourself onto people that’s what’s wrong”

”they’re  just sheep following the strong and profitable”

”That’s not how people should see this situation”

”shush lowlife peasant you have no right to speak to a king like me”

”bastard

”now then time to end you all myself after all BECAUSE IM JUST THE DEMON THAT RULES THIS WORLD”

kamoshida then turns red and starts to grow into some sort of demon monster with a long tongue with a goblet and crown

”I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT IN THIS WORLD AND YOU CAN’T STOP ME”

this new form kamoshida has took shocked everyone included ren as he had never seen this before

”hey joker have you seen anything like this before”

”not at all”

”TAKE THIS”

he attacks everyone but misses as everyone were trained well enough to dodge simple attacks like the one kamoshida just threw

kamoshida then drinks out his goblet joker knew that palace owners could use items to heal themselves with

”everyone attack that goblet in his hand”

”on it!!”

After a few minutes of fighting the goblet is destroyed 

“YOU BASTARDS TOME FOR YOU TO PAY FOR THAT”

kamoshida then looks at ren

”YOU, YOU’RE THE ONE WHO ALWAYS IN MY WAY NOW TIME FOR YOU TO SUFFER THE SAME FATE”

he then goes for a licking attack on ren but misses 

“that tongue is way too long”

” **ren that crown seems to be his source of strength try to knock it off** ”

Ren looks over to the other who are panting and sweating from the fighting

”hey mona”

”Yea what is it?”

”i need for you to climb up on that balcony and take his crown off”

”I can manage it but you need to distract him”

”he’s always trying to hit me I think I can distract him well enough”

”right”

”okay guys new plan me and skull will face him head on you stay back and fire your spells at him”

”right!”

they all get into position 

“you ready skull”

”if you’re  talking about beating this bastard up once and for all then hell yea”

“Let’s go”

mona starts to make his way up the balcony while ren and ryuji charge at him with support from the other 3 shooting their spells at him

”TAKE THIS”

kamoshida then jumps into the air with a volleyball and spikes it down

”oh shit that gonna oomph-“

ren kicks ryuji out of the way and he lands in front of the 3 girls

”YOU LOW LIFE BASTARD THIS IS WHAT YOU GET FOR MESSING WITH ME”

”joker!!!!!!” Ann screams out his name as she sees him get consumed by the hit 

the dust clears up and ren is just standing there unfazed as a tall white paper in the shape of a warrior stands above him

everyone is stunned from the fact that ren wasn’t even dazed by that attack and that he has more than one persona

mona in the balcony was the most surprised as he has never seen this before

”he has two personas??”

while ren dusts off his jacket he yells out another personas name

”Matador!!!”

a giant matador pops out of ren and the paper soldier dissipates

”swift strike!”

kamoshida is then hit 3 times knocking him back a little

”YOU BASTARD”

he goes to attack ren again 

“Shiki-Ouji!!”

the attack is then blocked by ren again as he summons both arsene and shiki-ouji as they both form out of ren

”Psio!” “Eiga!” 

Both of those skills the shoot out at the same time forming a beam mixture knocking kamoshida back and stunning him

”MONA NOW!”

mona then jumps out of the balcony and knocks the crown out of his head taking it as well

”GUYS NOW ALL OUT ATTACK”

everyone then jumps and repeatedly attacks kamoshida as he was now weakened and helpless to their onslaught of attacks 

kamoshida then falls over and reverts back to his human form he grabs his crown and tries to run away but is stuck in a corner as he can’t move from his position

”please w-we can talk about it”

”just shut up” 

everyone looks over at ann who walks over to him

”you tried to take everything from us you even took the lives of others”

“So what! Everyone put their expectations into me what’s wrong with wanting a reward”

ann then shoots a fire blast near kamoshida 

“please forgive me!”

“you tried to force yourself into everyone and get away with it you even tried to manipulate me into sleeping with you for your own selfish gain.......someone like that shouldn’t be forgiven”

”I see then shoot me then if I die here I’ll die in real life as well”

she shoots another fire skill near him

”but at the same time if you were to die here you can’t confess to all of your crimes”

”fine then....you want this take it” he throws the crown and ren catches it “I’ll confess everything that I have kept a secret and I’ll turn myself in”

”good”

kamoshida then disappears into nothingness

 “Looks like we all did it together” haru cheered

”we sure did”

”sorry to ruin the mood but we have to go as in now”

“What are you talking joke-“

as ryuji was about to question him the castle starts to shake and mona starts to panic 

“the palace is starting to fall apart because kamoshida isn’t here anymore we have to run or else”

”or else what!?!”

”i don’t know just run!”

they all start running down and out of the palace as the castle starts to fall apart around them

ryuji then trips onto the floor 

“damn leg”

ren then runs back and helps ryuji back up

”cmon we can’t stop now”

ryuji then gets back up and starts to run again

”thanks man”

”thanks me after we get out”

They continue to run and make it out back into the alleyway they started from leaving them all to pant from that entire battle

“Hey ren I gotta thank you for that”

”it’s no big deal”

ryuji then punches ren’s shoulder

”ow what was that for”

”for kicking me in the stomach! That hurt like hell”

”we’ll i didn’t want you getting hit by that attack”

”could you tell me to back off next time”

the rest of the group laugh at their squabble but mona looks to ren

”but you have not only two personas but you have 3 of them and you can use two of them at once that’s an impressive skill you have there”

”I’ll have to agree with mona chan with you already being strong and to have more than one persona and dual wielding two of them at the same time I’m envious of that”

”yeah ren that’s a stupidly over powered skill you have there”

ren chuckles “if only it didn’t have a hefty drawback”

”what do you mean?”

“It makes me extremely tired”

“That is a drawback but I guess it’s deserved for going in like that and scaring us” both ann and haru nodded as ren did scare everyone by going into a big devastating hit like that 

”actually do you guys want to hang out at my house today?”

they all looked towards haru who had a big smile

”yeah sure where do you live? Since you’re a rich girl and stuff”

”hold on let me call my limo driver”

”L-Limo driver???”

”yeah he always drives me here and back but occasionally I ask to walk by myself to explore the city and such”

shiho was shocked that she was driven to school and back by a limo driver and the fact that she might be able to experience one for the first time of her life

 “Yea he should be down the road also please mind the guards my dad has ordered them to escort me”

”Guards?!?!”

they all walk down the road to see a big black limo with two guys in black suits, black sunglasses and earpieces guarding the limo

”I see miss you’ve brought your friends along with you”

”yes please be kind to them they haven’t experienced this before”

”well of course”

the guard opens the door for haru and the rest of the gang to enter

they all enter in and look around the interior as it was very classy and pristine it makes you wonder how much you’d need for a limo with this look

“this is so cool Im so jealous you get to be in one everyday”

“Oh it gets boring when you can’t talk with friends and explore the city”

”but still this is hella freaking cool right ren”

he looks to ren

”ren?”

ren seemed to be sleeping it seemed as having more than one persona out was way more exhausting than he thought

”we should let him rest it’ll be a bit of ways to get there with all of this traffic”

Ryuji does take something out of ren’s pocket a gold medal with kamoshida’s name on it 

“what’s this”

”a gold medal?”

”that must be kamoshida’s treasure”

”treasure?”

”Yea the treasure manifests into real world objects as that was their most valuable possession and sometimes the start of their desires”

”so he never let go of his victory in the olympics”

”seems so”

”but it’s made of gold right I wonder how much we can sell it for”

shiho looks at ann “maybe we can finally go to that buffet in that one place”

”oh yeah you’re right”

”what’re guys talking about?”

”there’s this place where they have like gourmet foods and stuff but me and shiho could never get in maybe now is our chance to”

”okay we’ll see how much the medal can cover us and I’ll pay for the rest”

”sounds good”

as ann is excited as now she and shiho can finally eat some great food she feels a heavy force hit her shoulder she looks over and sees ren tipped over and fell onto her shoulder and she got a close look at ren’s face which made her blush

shiho got a mischievous grin but morgana got a bit jealous as ren was getting too close to ann for his liking

”hey wake him up”

”no no he’s tired deserves some rest for what he has done for all of us”

ann gave a smile as she didn’t mind staying like this as ren’s sleeping face was cute to her

“Wait haru is that your house?!?!?”

she points to the big building that had Okumura plastered on the top of it

”yeah mind the sign father put that up there in case I walked and got lost”

the entire group besides haru, mona and ren were very shocked and suprised that this big building was where she lived and that was where they were going to hang out for the rest of the day


	12. Hangout

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Late upload working on the other first chapters as they were unnecessarily rushed I’m also gonna try to work on the chapters way more so uploading will be spaced out

“Hey”

”ren??”

”get up”

”Take this!!”

ren is swiftly hit in the stomach by small cat like paws

After ren recovers from morgana kick at his stomach he looks around at his friends    ”huh? Where are we”

Ann giggles at ren’s dazed expression     ”haru’s house”

ren then steps out of the limo and looks up at the giant building in front of him

ren says in a normal tone as this was to be expected of a girl with billionaire parents     ”so then this is your house”

”indeed it is”

they all look forward to see a woman with short black hair, slick glasses and a maid outfit walking towards them and bowing

”hello I am reiko kawahara but you may call me reiko”

Ryuji looks at ren with an excited look    ”woah it’s a maid like an actual maid dude”

”yes I am miss haru’s personal maid”

Ren gives a slight smile as all though she looks normal she is a heavily trained military operator ” _so she was the one who gave haru that grenade launcher_ ”

” **she seems normal looking for the most part** ”

“I see you must be the friends of miss haru I thank you for befriended her as she told me all about you”

”aww haru how sweet of you” ann felt touched to be haru’s friend as the girl was sweet so she could only picture the kind words that came out of her mouth

”think nothing of it” both ann and haru smiled at each other but it’s short lived as reiko cuts them off 

“anyways if you may please step inside so we may go to haru’s personal suite” 

“P-personal suite” shiho was getting more and more shocked as she didn’t expect haru to have this much

”yes now let’s us go inside”

they all enter inside and walk towards an elevator and everyone enters in acknowledging the entire interior of the lobby and the elevator as everything was clean and had a sleek look to it

they all enter the elevator and reiko presses a button moving them upwards to the top floor only makes you wonder what is on the other couple of floors

the elevator stops and opens to the look of a gorgeous interior that would put most mansions to shame

”this is where you live?!?!” Shiho was in utter shock at the dignified look of the entire place 

Haru gets a little sad as she was always treated as a billionaire’s daughter ”yeah although please don’t look at me differently please just treat me like a normal person”

ren laughs “why would we? we all aren’t normal yet we treat eachother the same”

they all laugh

“yeah you are right thank you now let’s settle at the table”

She points at the glass coffee table with white couches enough to sit about 8 or 9 people

they all settle down at the couches which are the softest and the most luxurious thing you could feel and spend money on

reiko then looks to the group ”I guess I’ll leave you to that while I get you some refreshments”

she then leaves the room walking into the kitchen

Haru then gives a joyful smile as she looks at everyone ”so I guess this is our celebration for today’s hard work”

Shiho then cheerfully says ”and tomorrow once ryuji sells that medal we will go to that restaurant together”

Ann equally as excited to finally go and eat at the buffet ”ooh I can’t wait for that”

ren laughs “you guys seem way too excited for a buffet”

”cause it’s not a normal buffet it’s a high class buffet”

”same thing just shorter wait times”

“It’s not”

”potato potato”

they all laugh 

ryuji then stares at ren with a serious look as he was about to ask a serious question 

“hey ren you never said why you’re under probation”

the mood goes down as ren is a bit silent and looks sad hearing about it

Ann scoffs at ryuji’s comment ”ryuji that’s a sensitive topic”

”no its cool it’s only natural I tell you about it”

ren takes a deep breath 

Ren explains his entire story on how he got arrested and put under probation which enraged everyone listening 

“and that’s my story”

ann stands up with her fists gripped tightly “how does someone like that get away with that that’s total bullshit”

Ryuji also stands up with ann wanting to pummel him ”yeah dude we have to take him out”

Shiho also joins in as well”I’m all in for this operation”

Morgana then jumps onto the top of coffee table to grab everyone’s attention ”Do you even know who he is?”

the 3 of them sit back sit down realizing that they can’t even go after the guy if they don’t know him

“Masayoshi Shido”

”wait the politician running for prime minister” haru semi knew about him as him and her dad along with several other important business man and lawyers had a few meetings in the past

”Yea I guess so but I’ve tried to get into palace before but I don’t know the rest of the information”

”so he does have a palace” morgana was thinking of what building would be important to him

”but we don’t know the what and where”

”why don’t we ask alibaba?” Shiho suggest as she assumed everyone knew who she was

ryuji who didn’t even understand the conversation in the first place just got even more confused at the situation “I’m sorry ali who?”

”oh she’s a hacker that helped me rescue ann and shiho but then again even if we do know we can’t exactly pinpoint the location will be near us”

” **and there’s him** ”

” _I can’t bring him up who’s knows what they might do_ ”

“ **Right** ”

”so then should we just hold off until we can get a real pinpoint location to him”

”in the meantime I have something to show all of you but it’ll have to be tomorrow seeing as all of you are way too tired to go back”

Ryuji looked at ren still bitter at ren”Yea that kick still hurt you know”

Ren laughed it off”better then getting spiked by a giant volleyball”

Morgana looks over to ren with a curious look”speaking of that ren you can own multiple personas and you can use them at once that’s a very impressive skill of yours”

”oh yeah I guess it is”

”you guess! man I want two personas that’s so cool”

”well I guess it makes even more sense that your the leader”

morgana didn’t like hearing that and by his love too stung him quite a bit

reiko came back with a plate of drinks and another plate of cinnamon rolls that’s were baked an hour before haru had came back

”here are your drinks and some snacks for you and your friends miss” she bows while giving a drink to each designated person

”thank you reiko”

she stares daggers at morgana before leaving which causes him to shiver and get off the table still shivering from the pure terror and the look of death he had just gotten 

Ryuji laughs at morgana’s sudden reaction “someone can shut up morgana”

”you ape you don’t understand how scary she is”

”who are you calling an ape”

they all laugh at the two as they enjoyed their drinks and snacks

” _this drink taste funny_ ”

” **could just be your imagination or your bad taste** ”

ren simply shrugs it off as they all enjoy the the treats that reiko brought out

”jeez I’m jealous you guys two have maids I wish I had one”

Ren looks at ann curiously”wait ann you have a maid too?”

”oh yeah my parents have a maid although she isn’t as active as reiko”

”yeah ann’s parents are modelers and she a part time model” shiho nudged ann to try to encourage her 

”i mean I don’t necessarily try” ann was too clueless to understand shiho’s hint and gesture of encouragement 

”probably because she’s the daughter of a multi billionaire so and an ex military agent doesn’t sound too far fetched but I wonder how much you’d need to pay for that”

Ryuji starts imagining what it be like to have all the money in world the amount of ramen he could buy was heaven to him

“I mean being a model sounds cool” 

”it’s not really you kinda need to be very aggressive to be on the good magazines and such so it’s kinda a chore”

”you say that because you only do it when you can’t hang out with me”

”yeah mainly that”

Ryuji gets up and stretches “Anyways I think it’s time for me to go I need to help my mom out”

ren looks over confused ”are we not going to train”

”nah I’ll skip on that for today plus I’m all worn out”

”alright guess I’ll go by myself”

Ann looks at ren with a serious look”wait are you sure you should train you were just taking a nap in the limo”

“Well I’m all rested up now so I should be good”

”but we just took out the palace entirely wouldn’t that be too exhausting”

“Yeah if that was my first palace but I’ve built my body up for the challenge so I should be good to go”

Ann slightly blushes in thinking of how ‘built’ his body is “t-thats not the point!!...fine then but I’m coming with and I’m not taking no for an answer”

”alright then but don’t complain when your not on the floor worn out from the training”

”is that a challenge”

”could be”

they both stared at eachother with fiery intensity as ren just challenged ann while the rest of the group sat there laughing on at their bout

”so then i guess it’ll just be me and haru for now”

”hey what about me” 

shiho then starts to pet morgana “Yea, yea I didn’t forget you too cat”

”take care you guys”

They all wave each other goodbye as they leave haru’s apartment making it just haru shiho and morgana

“Anyways I’m gonna go to my room” morgana Althea jumps off the coach and makes his way down the hallway

”wait he has his own room?”

”oh yea he does”

”you spoil him too much”

”oh it’s ok”

reiko walks into the room with a tea kettle and two teacups and plates 

“seems the rest of them left so I brought you some tea for the both of you”

”oh thank you reiko”

”now if you’ll excuse me”

”oh wait reiko why don’t you take a break”

”I thank you miss I shall take my break now”

she walks away into the same hallway that morgana had left through

”she’s pretty serious about her job”

”I mean my father did hire a good maid after all”

”yeah one that gives kids military weapons”

”Don’t be so rude” 

“I’m joking I’m joking”

they both giggle but the thought of a military agent deciding to take care of a billionaire’s daughter did spike some curiosity in shiho 

meanwhile

**Protein Gym**

ann falls down onto the floor face first all sweaty and worn out by the extra hour of running and training her body with ren’s exercise regime while ren stands abover her drinking water out of a insulated bottle wiping off the sweat on his head

ren sighs while crouching down to her “I told you not to follow my exact training regime”

ann’s voice was muffled as she was laying her head on the floor “shush I took the challenge I should finish the challenge but I mean it wasn’t that bad”

ren laughs “oh no that was warmup for me”

ann looks up at ren with disbelief “warmup?? How long do you train for?”

”2-4 hours at most”

”that’s so looong”

”we could do light exercises for an hour and half but today let’s just go back”

Ren helps ann get back up off of the floor

”thirsty?” Ren holds the flask in front of her

”oh thanks” she takes in from him and drinks the rest of the flask

”you weren’t hiding it huh?”

”of course I couldn’t I already died on the floor a minute ago what else is there to hide”

they both laugh “ok let’s go get some food before we go”

”oh sure but the diner should be near closing”

”oh i was thinking of the ramen shop nearby here”

”oh that’s sounds good”

they leave the gym and head towards the beef bowl shop nearby and settle down at one of the open seats on the counter

”how do you manage to balance all of that along with your long exercises”

”oh uh I never had that many friends back in Kyoto so I really never hung out with people besides like 3 friends”

”so even someone as cool and charming as you doesn’t even have that many friends”

Ann started to blush after admitting that ren was charming “Um f-forget i said anything about that”

ren laughs then smiles at ann “thanks ann I appreciate that although everyone did give me looks back there as if I was just eye candy to them”

”yeah I can understand that fully that’s why I never made friends with people besides shiho they always treated me like someone who would do anything for money”

”that sucks”

”yeah it did but I had shiho with me so I didn’t really care about what they thought”

“Rumors are just rumors”

“I guess we aren’t so different”

”Yea you’re right...”

the ramen bowls come in and they both start eating but ann seemed to be eating way faster than usual which might have been because she was too exhausted to move and she need something to hold her up

ren looks over the ann’s empty bowl of ramen “you really were exhausted huh” 

“I needed something to help me be able to walk to the subway with”

 Ren laughs “told you to not try to work out after a battle like that”

ann pouts while looking away at ren “shut up I wanted to prove I am capable”

 Ren leaves the cash for the food “I already know you’re capable you don’t need to show me off all the time”

Ann slightly blushes as she stands up from her chair ”well I feel obligated to as your our leader and you always push yourself to be better and keeping us safe”

”that’s what a leader does don’t they”

they both get up and leave the shop and start on their walk to the subway

”right but you always try your hardest”

”I don’t see the problem with that”

”hey ren is there a reason you always go into these palaces”

ren hesitates with the question as he couldn’t reveal the real reason for his reasoning 

“to find out the mental shutdown cases and why they happen”

”that is a good reason but is there anything else?”

”no...no other reason”

”alright”

they go onto the subway and catch the train back to yogen-jaya 

once the train heads to the station they both get off 

“so then I’ll see you at school tomorrow”

”Yea see you”

they wave each other off as they go into their own separate ways back home 

ren is walking back to Leblanc when a certain persona is floating with him

“ **So how was your date** ”

”it wasn’t a date”

arsene laughs “ **anyways I see you’re enjoying life instead of trying to struggle against it** ”

”yeah I guess I really am”

” **still though be careful he’s still lurking around** ”

”right but I want to train them up to make sure he can’t pull any tricks up his sleeve”

” **just try not to push yourself too hard** ”

”right”

ren walks over to leblanc’s front door and enters in

_____________________________________

**_?????? ??????_ **

a boy around 16 is looking outside of an office window when he gets a call from someone

”hello, Shido?”

”i see that boy is in Tokyo from that investigation done at that high school”

”seems so but don’t worry I’ll take him out”

”you better with him on the loose who knows what he might try to pull”

”it’s fine l’ll just do some investigation before I evaluate”

”thank you I will put you on the top priority list once I become prime minister”

”thank you Shido I will make sure the operation goes smoothly”

he hangs up the phone and stares back at the window showing the dark city lit up by streetlights and other houses and building windows

”so we meet again ren but this time it will be our last”


	13. Eavesdroppers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short chapter kinda wanted to put this in

Lunchtime

the day went slow as usual with lunchtime commencing and ren sitting at his desk after eating his lunch when he is approached by someone

”hey uh your Amamiya-San right?”

ren looks over to see a familiar looking girl nervously talk to him

”yea what do you need?”

“Well I wanted to apologize for not contacting you”

”wait contacting me?”

“Yea we met at that ramen place remember”

”oh yeah I do but my friend said he was catfished so I didn’t try to contact you”

”she wanted to get me a date and she didn’t want to be with Sakamoto-San so she told me to get your number but I never got the chance to talk to you”

“Oh well I’m here now so what’s up”

”well I was wondering if you wanted to grab something to eat after school”

”sure I think I’m free today”

she smiles at ren as he accepted her request and was about to turn to leave

”alright I’ll see you after school then”

she waves off and smiled while leaving the classroom to go back to her own class

meanwhile ann who was listening to the entire conversation was screaming inside of her head about ren’s date with a random girl she didn’t know about and what seemed that he didn’t know about

Afterschool

shiho was leaving her classroom when she looked over saw ann running at her at an alarming speed with a worried expression on her face

”hey Ann what’s-“

”SHIHOINEEDTOTALKTOYOUITSIMPORTANT”

ann then grabs her arm and drags her to the school entrance stopping as soon as she got near the gate and freeing shiho’s arm from her death grip

Shiho was rubbing her arm as ann’s grip was unreasonably strong and was pretty painful ”jeez ann what was that about” 

“shhh” she points out to a girl who was chatting with ren near the entrance

shiho looked out and saw them so she decided to join ann in her eavesdropping 

“so shall we head off”

”Yea let’s go”

they started to walk off while both ann and shiho were sneaking off following them as they made their way to Shibuya

both ann and shiho were trailing the two of them ann had her hood up while shiho put her hair down as to not raise suspicion if ren saw them as they were hiding behind cars lampposts and other conveniently placed objects to obscure his view

they trailed him until they entered the diner and waited for them to choose a seat before they entered in

as the saw the two exit from the entrance way they made their way in and saw the two seated in the back but in front of the table that ren stands at was a blonde guy with a mustache, sunglasses and a wig that didn’t cover his hair

Shiho looked at ann with a very confused look”hey Ann you don’t think”

Ann returned the same face at shiho ”oh no I know”

they both walked up to the table and sat down next to ryuji while trying not to alert ren

”hey ryuji what are you doing here?”

”especially with that”

“I’m spying on ren”

they all whispered but it was apparent they were confused as well appalled by how ryuji was disguised

”that doesn’t explain the outfit”

”what else was I supposed to use”

“a disguise that is USEFUL it looks like to made a disguise based off of every spy movie you saw”

”shhh they’re talking to eachother”

the three of them quieted down as they were both chatting it off having a blast

”so are you sporty type amamiya-san?”

”well not exactly I’m not really all that made for sports”

”but at that volleyball game you had with kamoshida you were very cool and you looked like you belonged on a pro team”

”well I had help”

”still that was very cool but you are getting expelled right?”

”Yea but kamoshida hasn’t been at school for quite sometime”

ren gave a small laugh as he couldn’t tell her about the metaverse but he knew that kamoshida wouldn't expel him 

“Yea but still you’ll be gone so are you worried about it”

”no I have a feeling he’ll come back different”

“All right then but I appreciate you accepting my invitation even though you might be in trouble”

”it’s cool I had nothing to do anyways shall we order”

”Yea let us”

they both had ordered food leaving the three stalkers to order water and some desserts when they felt hungry as they stayed there for near an hour before leaving

”crap they’re leaving we have to go”

as they are trying to leave they are stopped by the waitress as they hadn’t paid their bill yet which shiho had to cover as ryuji didn’t have money on him and ann didn’t have enough so shiho took the cost of the whole bill

”ann did you have to buy so many desserts!”

”I got hungry”

”aughh”

they left the diner and followed the two as they were making their way to the park outside of Shibuya 

they reach to the park and the girl stops near some benches”

the three eavesdroppers were hiding behind a big conveniently placed tree as they had no other place to hide

she turns around and faces ren

“So then amamiya-san”

”yeah what’s up”

”I was wondering if you want to be my boyfriend?”

The three eavesdroppers who were stood behind the tree were immediately shocked

”wait after one date?!”

”please don’t say yes”

while ryuji was pretty envious of ren and how he might be able to get a girlfriend 

”lucky I wish I was in his place”

The three stood anxiously at ren’s answer while ren sighed

”sorry I’m gonna have to say no you’re cool and all but we don’t seem to click that well and I might get expelled so I don’t think a relationship would work”

”I see...well I guess I’ll see you in school”

she runs off with a small amount of tears coming out of her eyes

Ren sighs and turns around but doesn’t move

”YOU WANNA COME OUT NOW!?!”

the three of them jump out of the tree a little startled that ren knew about their whereabouts 

“h-hey ren what’s up” ann said a little nervous that ren knew

”so you guys want to explain why you were eavesdropping on me?”

”well I was told that you were asked out into a date so we got curious” shiho said while trying not to sound like a liar

”you don’t need to spy on me I wasn’t going to go out with her and besides that what’s with the disguises”

they all looked at ryuji who was innocently whistling with his wig and mustache still on

”how’d you know it was us”

ren facepalmed at ryuji’s stupid question

“You are wearing a wig and a fake mustache ryuji that and you are all still wearing your uniforms it’s pretty easy to tell who’s who at least haru has the decency to not spy on me”

”heheh sorry about that”

”still I can understand why ryuji trailed me but what about you two as your excuse isn’t strong enough for me to believe you two”

”well uhhh ummmm” ann was blanking out as she couldn’t think of an excuse

”we did it to make sure our leader wasn’t doing anything indecent we can’t have a leader that is indecent and a pig” shiho had thought of that on the spot which worked against ren

“Fine I see why but still you guys are too much already I don’t need to be spies on 24/7”

”well I mean you went on a date with the girl who gave you her number I think that’s fair enough”

”because you put me up to it god dammit”

”Yea but I worked out for you I would’ve said yes” ryuji said envious and annoyed that ren turned her down”

”ryuji we’re going to have a talk about dragging me into other people’s businesses”

”wait your the reason had to go on a date with her”

ann looked at ryuji angered that he was the reason ren was on a date with her

”Yea what’s wrong with that”

”RYUJI!”

ryuji realizing how angry ann was and how bad the situation might be for him if he stayed he ran away as fast as he could

”NRRRGH GET BACK HERE”

ann chases after ryuji ready to pull his head off leaving ren and shiho all by themselves which gave shiho an idea 

“hey ren”

”Yea?”

”was there another reason for you turning her down?”

”no I don’t think so”

”really now??”

“I’m sure” 

shiho was stepping ever so closer as she interrogated ren

”so then do you like someone then?”

”no I don’t have anyone”

”hmph fine then I get I’ll see you later once I go and find where the other two ran off to”

she runs off in the same direction as the other two hoping they didn’t run too far

” **so then I guess you made your choice**?”

”maybe I don’t know”

” **oooo ren who’s your choice?** ”

”who knows maybe I’ll make my own harem” he said while chuckling 

” **ahh yes your true charmer is coming out finally** ”

”ok but seriously let’s go before I miss the next train again”


	14. Confession

Morning

ren is waiting for the next train and while he’s waiting he goes into the group chat and chats with his friends

[A: so you sure his heart will change it’s been a week already]

[Re: he’s probably still grieving over it but he will confess or turn himself in]

[Ry: man I can’t wait for him to finally get was he deserves]

[S: but how will he announce it]

[A: he hasn’t been at school for awhile]

[S: and we’ve had study hall instead of PE]

[Re: he’ll find some way to confess it’ll happen]

[A: has it taken this long before?]

[Re: yeah it’s a weird process but it’ll happen]

[Ry: it better I don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for him to be put in jail]

[S: well let’s hope ren isn’t expelled after this]

[Re: we can only hope]

ren closes his phone as the train arrived and he gets on with his day as usual

 **Lunchtime**  

an announcement is played as lunchtime starts

MAY EVERY STUDENT PLEASE GO STRAIGHT TO THE AUDITORIUM 

“ _auditorium so suddenly?_ ”

” **I think it’s time he showed up** ”

” _finally_ ”

the other students were very well confused why they were being put into the auditorium without any warning or schedule the teachers mainly shrugged it off as a surprise announcement but to ren he knew what was about to happen

ren walked into the auditorium to find the principal and kamoshida standing on the stage next to the mic with kamoshida looking distraught and the principal unaware of what kamoshida is going to say

the rest of the students who piled in were very confused to see the volleyball coach show up after being gone for a week without any notice besides a self suspension 

Mr. Kobayakawa speaks as the entire school is present in the auditorium

”students I understand that it’s very sudden that we have called you out here but our volleyball coach has something very important to say as he has led the team into semi finals and the next match is next week so I now leave it to mr. kamoshida for the rest of the speech”

kamoshida then walks up to the mic after Kobayakawa steps away

”thank you mr. kobayakawa yes next week will be the semi finals for our volleyball tournament and I just want to say thank you to everyone involved”

kamoshida then starts to shutter and if he was appalled with what he was about to say next

”but I have to announce something else too”

” _looks like he will say it_ ”

“I have done things no teachers should have ever done what I have done betrays the duties of a teacher and a coach I am trash I am scum I am the most deplorable being in this earth for the things I have done I’ve verbally and physically abused students but I have also went as far as sexually abuse female students and I am the reason for the suicide of the girl a few years back and I’m the reason the previous PE teacher is no longer here and locked up in jail for a crime he never committed I don’t deserve anything so in order to atone to my misdeeds I will end my life to truly repay for those that have suffered because of me”

he starts to sob and cry onto the stage which has everyone confused and the principal panic to call someone to get kamoshida off the stage before he could progress further

”don’t run away you bastard!”

everyone turned and looked to ann who was stomped her foot down and getting frustrated at kamoshida’s attempt to escape

“The only thing a scumbag like you can do is to confess to all of your confess and turn yourself in”

”yes I had used suzui-san to get closer to takamaki-san and for her to be in a relationship with me to the point to where I almost forced her to sleep with me”

kamoshida then looks up to see the crowd in front of him and sees ren standing in the crowd 

“and as for you amamiya-san I apologize for all the things I have done to you threatening you, getting you expelled and almost causing your friends pain and suffering I don’t think there’s anything I could do to repay you”

”of course there is and that’s to turn yourself in and confess to all of the crimes you have done in order for me to accept your apology”

”I see so then as of today I will be resigning as an instructor and as a teacher and I will be turning myself in and truly sorting out my crimes”

kamoshida then was escorted out of the stage as the rest of the teachers had everyone leave the auditorium while they settled the ordeal that had just occurred 

people had left the Auditorium leaving only ren, ryuji, ann and shiho to themselves 

“s-so he really did change” ryuji looks over and faces ren with a disheartened look “was that really for the best”

ren although having done this many times it still bothered him how they broke down after their hearts changed “yeah it has to be”

”yeah your right there was no other way for this to change”

as the three were very shocked at how things turned out three people one of them being Mishima walked up to the group

”takamaki-san we’re so sorry we were really wrong about you and we’re sorry for spreading those rumors”

ann a little surprised by their straightforwardness didn’t have a lot of words to say “oh it’s all right it’s all over now”

”yeah but to think he almost had his way with you to think you might’ve turned out like that one girl”

”n-no it’s fine now”

“But we’re the ones who spread those rumors about you and amamiya-san to think he would go this far and force himself into you we’re really sorry for that”

“Well it’s all in the past now”

”they’re others that also want to apologize too”

a teacher still making sure the students fully emptied out the auditorium walked up to the students still lingering around

”to your classes at once!”

”guess I’ll see you later”

the two girls left leaving only Mishima behind

”amamiya-san I’m sorry for what I’ve done but thank you for all of the things you have done”

he leaves the auditorium as well leaving ren a bit confused to what he meant

”so looks like the rumors are gonna die down a bit”

”that doesn’t matter to me as long as kamoshida gets what he deserves it’s good enough for me”

they all eventually left the auditorium a little more dispirited then they hoped 

the day went on with students chatting about how kamoshida was acting and how similar it was to the events in Kyoto 

“you think that heart thief is here as well”

”they couldn’t be that post card wasn’t as well made and descriptive”

”you think one of the other students is one of them”

”his behavior was the same as the other people that have confessed in Kyoto”

after most people had fled it was just ann and ren standing by 

“so then he really did confess”

”yeah in the same manner as the rest”

Afterschool

everyone had met up at the school rooftop with everyone being a little more quiet than usual

”so we really took his heart huh?”

”yeah I never really saw one so up close and personal before” ren still had a semi shocked face as he never seen a confession so up close and being this personal to him before

Morgana had a look a satisfaction to the results ”well if it is true that if we take their treasure and persuade them to confess they won’t have a mental shutdown”

”Hey I mean we did good that was an A+ effort for me”

”you don’t have to be so loud you know” ann said annoyed by ryuji’s loud tone

”but we’ve finally took that bastard down can’t we you know celebrate?!”

haru giggled at ryuji’s excitement at kamoshida’s confession “yes it was time for him to face justice”

”yes this was the biggest operation for all of you except for ren but now that’s over we should-“

before morgana could speak further he is cut off by Ann

”have a celebration!”

”yes we do have the funds for it isn’t that right ryuji”

they all look over to ryuji who takes out 30,000¥ from his bag

Morgana looked at ryuji with a disappointed look ”wait you carried 30,000¥ on you?”

”Yea what’s wrong with that”

”you ape”

”Huh?!”

Ren is laughing but speaks up before a fight happens ”anyways before you two break out into a frenzy I guess we’ll be celebrating at that famous hotel”

”ooo I can’t wait me and ann have always wanted to go there” 

“So then when can we go? ooo I hope there’s some fatty tuna there” morgana then daydreamt about all the fatty tuna they had and he was purring to prove that he was

Ryuji excitingly exclaimed”how about Thursday since then the last day of break that sounds like a great time to do it”

”so then the day after tomorrow yeah I believe I’m free”

”so then that settles it Thursday it is”

”yes! I can’t wait to try gourmet foods for the first time” ann was radiating happiness just at the thought of finally going to eat at a famous hotel

haru giggles at all their excitement “you guys really are excited for this”

”well it’s not going to be for you as you get to eat gourmet foods all the time”

”the things I could do with that money all the ramen I could buy” ryuji was also left daydreaming about ramen and not tuna

after the date and time was settled the team breaks off into their own direction 

ren then steps downstairs to see the police begin investigating after talking to some of the teachers and some students affected by kamoshida

ren walks to the entrance to see some students still have the card as the rest of them were confiscated a week earlier by kamoshida himself 

As ren walked by the front entrance he several police cars investigate the school and he saw some of the students chat about the event

”to think he was that kind of person”

”those rumors were true”

”but did his heart got changed after all”

”that was just a hoax right?”

”it can’t be this happen back in Kyoto”

”someone has to be the heart thief unless they’re multiple”

ren said while smirking at everyone’s change of heart to the situation

” **so I guess this change of heart really did feel like a victory after all** ”

“ _Yeah probably because it felt way more personal than usual_ ”

” **especially that punch you landed on him** ”

” _ooh you have no idea how good that felt_ ”

Arsene laughs “ **I guess so but let’s get out of here before we get questioned** ”

ren leaves the gate and ends up making his way back home to Leblanc 

as ren enters the cafe with a smirk on his face but sees no other customers as the last customer had left a couple of minutes before ren returned so it was just sojiro sitting by himself having a smoke break

”you seem like you had a good day”

”I guess you can say that” ren said while rubbing his head and chuckling lightly

”well if your up to it I’m free right now wanna try to enhance your coffee making skills?”

”in a little bit I just gotta put my stuff away”

”take your time”

ren then hurries upstairs as he went to set down his stuff a message pops up on his phone

ren checks his phone to see a message from a person with no ID

[so you really were the thief I’ve heard about all along]

”I wasn’t lying”

[very interesting of you though how do you do it?]

”I think if I tried to explain it would be really hard to comprehend”

[oh please]

[try me]

”I have an app where I can enter into some other world and I can control people hearts to confess crimes that they have done kinda like their brain melts down in a way”

[interesting but what if you killed them in this ‘other world’]

”then they die in real life”

[do you know if there are other users]

”n-no I don’t know”

[acting pretty suspicious there how do I know that you aren’t responsible for the mental shutdown cases]

”because if I was I wouldn’t need a team” ren said im a more venomous and somber tone 

[you got me there ok then keep going with your heart stealing and I can do with whatever I can]

”thank you”

[no problem :p]

ren shuts his phone down then sprawls on his bed

” **it’s still eating at you huh** ”

”yeah”

” **I believe in you kid you can always improve** ”

”I don’t think I can now with what I’ve done but I guess I’m just gonna sleep early”

” **sweet dreams** ”

after ren changes into his pajamas and informs sojiro about him sleeping early he closes up shop leaving ren alone to sleep in his bed


	15. Sight seeing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wanted to put in some filler to go over the break before I go into the buffet celebration

Morning

ren walks down the steps into the cafe and sees sojiro looking at the tv to a news story

{a school PE teacher has been found and tried for several crimes at a local high school}

sojiro then sighs at the broadcast and looks to ren

”on break huh”

”yeah what’s up”

”seems a teacher at your school was arrested”

”Yeah I heard about that”

”alright then just remember to stay out of trouble and wash these plates when you come back”

”yeah I’ll do them when I come back”

”just do it and don’t sass me”

”I will”

ren leaves the cafe after eating breakfast but walks around aimlessly as none of his friends were open to hang out so he decided to lay low and go sight seeing

” **you should go check on that doctor out** ”

ren shivers at the thought of her “ _she has the feeling of death on her_ ”

” **dont be so picky she’s the only source of healing items we have unless you want to resort to band aids and cough syrup** ”

” _fine I’d rather not be questioned on why I’m buying 20 bottles of cough syrup at a drug store_ ”

ren enters the clinic although he really didn’t wish to but he had to if he wanted useful medicines 

as ren enters the clinic doctor takemi eyes him  down before questioning him

”welcome I see you’re on break”

”y-yeah well I want to take up on your offer”

”please step into the examination room”

ren goes into the examination room where tae is sitting at with a clipboard and a stethoscope 

“please sit down i need to do a check up on your physical and mental capabilities”

”what’s that suppose to mean?”

”I’m just gonna have you ask questions and then I’m gonna have a check up on your physical vitals”

”alright”

ren sits down on the bed as she asks him various questions and ren answers them accordingly 

Tae then places down her clipboard and puts on her stethoscope 

“ok then that’s the question portion on my test now then I need you to take off your shirt so I can clearly hear your vitals”

”s-sure” ren hesitantly takes off his shirt showing off his scar and his muscles

”hmm alright then” she then starts checking on his vitals such as his heartbeat, his breathing, etc 

after she finishes doing a physical checkup she steps back to her desk and writes down on her clipboard

ren puts his shirt back on a little more uncomfortable as he didn’t expect a surprise checkup

”so it seems you are perfectly healthy”

”oh! Thanks”

”but you do have a scar on your chest is there any reason for that?”

”oh just an old incident back in my hometown”

”well I shouldn’t pry any further I need a guinea pig to be healthy in every sense”

”why every sense?”

”a healthy guinea pig gives the best results”

”ok..then so now what”

”here” she hands his a cup with some medicine in it “drink that then lay down on the bed”

”sure...” he drinks the cup then lays down on the bed “so what’s this suppose to do-“

ren passes out surprising tae

”hmm seems like the medicine hit you sooner than I thought”

 

Later

ren opens his eyes and immediately sits up to see tae sipping a coffee as she looks to the now awake ren

“Seems you’re awake”

”how long was it out?”

tae then checks her watch and the current time

”i’d say about one hour”

”o-one hour!?”

tae laughs at ren’s shocked expression “yeah seems the medicine kicked in sooner than I thought”

”what did it do to me”

”not much just made you pass out and some minor effects”

”are you sure none of this will kill me”

”don’t worry I’ll ensure that you won’t die”

”thanks”

”however”

”Yeah?”

she sets down her coffee on her table and faces ren

”you’re under probation right”

”y-yeah”

”but it seems you aren’t as much of a criminal as people make you out to seem”

”I was arrested for something out of my control”

”I believe you”

“You do?”

“your behavior and personality doesn’t match the crime you committed”

”wait what do you mean”

”you’re helping some random passerby for no goal besides medicine for your studies”

”I don’t want to repeat my crime twice”

”yes but you seem to be secretive of something else”

ren looks away a bit nervous “ _did she find me out?_ ”

” **she’s more perceptive than I thought** ”

”but it’s not my business to force things on you”

”thanks”

”anyways you should get going now I don’t wanna hold up your time”

”well bye”

ren leaves the clinic and heads back outside

ren shivers as she seemed to see through everything

” **creeped out?** ” arsene laughs

” _she scarier each time I see her_ ”

ren decides to go to Shibuya to get more comfortable with his surroundings while chatting with his old friends from Kyoto about the scenery

[E: hey so is Tokyo as cool as it looks like]

[R: sort of it’s cool and all but not at all like the pictures I’ve seen of this place]

[A: maybe you’re not looking hard enough]

[R: well it’s been only a month and I haven’t seen much of Tokyo]

[E: anyways besides that ren how’s Tokyo treating you?]

[R: fine but not a lot has happened]

[K: what do you mean there was an arrest at your new school it’s insane]

[A: I heard about that but let’s focus on ren’s travels before we start ranting on about the heart thief I’m pretty sure ren has been worn out by all of our chats about it]

[R: basically]

[E: so then ren any new news in Tokyo]

[K: any girls you falling for? if they got friends can you send them my way?]

[A: as if they would go out with you]

[E: yeah ren any girls you trying to go for]

” _arghh do I have to answer this?_ ”

” **the longer you take the more suspicious they’ll be** ” arsene laughs

[R: no there isn’t anyone]

[K: you took a bit to respond there]

[A: oh ren how dare you respond that way keeping secrets from your friends]

[E: it puts a tear in all of our eyes]

[R: There isn’t anyone I like]

[K: ren you can’t keep secrets like that]

[A: make sure you show her to us when you get back]

Ren closes his phone and sighs in defeat to his friends persistent teasing and poking around

” _why am I friends with them_ ”

” **they are good friends though they seem to trust you enough verbally worry about you** ”

” _I guess but they can’t be annoying some times”_

” **that’s just how friends work and you can’t change that** ”

” _yeah but let’s just go back to walking around and getting familiar with the scenery_ ”

Ren continues to walk around Shibuya and he makes it to a familiar shady alleyway tucked away so no one but those aware of their surroundings would see 

“ **we also have that other offer** ”

“ _let’s see what that gunsmith is about_ ”

ren goes over to the store and enters in to see the same stack of guns, helmets and other assortments of gear

“Welcome what’re looking for”

ren looks over to see Iwai walking back from his small back room

”well I wanted to take up on your offer”

“glad you made your decision”

”anyways what’s in it for me”

iwai laughs “seems you got the right spunk kid here I’ll give you some deals off of some weaponry but you have to do some tasks for me”

”what kind of tasks am I about to do?”

”clean these shelves”

”I beg your pardon?”

”clean these shelves and I’ll give you a discount on something or whatever”

ren sighs and agrees to iwai’s demand although he did expect to be a gunrunner and not a simple housemaid

ren then spends the rest of his afternoon cleaning the store while him and iwai make small conversation 

After ren leaves the store he walks around to the nearby park outside of Shibuya

” _hey arsene were you able to find out if there is a shadow paradise around here_ ”

” **I can feel one around here but I can’t seem to find anything** ”

” _maybe I’ll ask the twins they might know something_ ”

” **most likely they’re our best bet** ”

Ren then sits down at a nearby bench by himself looking on at the pond in front of him with people enjoying themselves and having a wonderful time

“ _Life just doesn’t go my way sometimes_ ”

ren then stares up at the sky with his arms stretched over the bench

” _never does_ ”

ren sighs and closes his eyes but opens them again when he hears a familiar voice

”oh hey ren”

ren looks over to see shiho walking over to him while waving

”what’re you doing here”

”I went out sight seeing to get more familiar with Tokyo”

shiho goes down to sit next to him and ren adjusts himself to accommodate for two people

”oh yea you’re still adjusting to life here”

”yeah but I think I’m doing fine as of now and at least I have you guys to show me around”

shiho laughs “yeah you are right but I want to ask you something”

”yeah what’s up”

”about that while spying on you incident”

”what of it?”

”are you not interested in dating?”

ren looks at shiho a little shocked but looks away while answering “huh oh well I am but I’m not sure”

shiho gets a little agitated from ren’s answer but decides to press further not only to learn more about ren but to help ann “so then does that mean you like anyone”

Ren is fully shocked that he’s being questioned yet again “I told you I’m not sure”

shiho stands up fully agitated that ren wasn’t so easy at getting through as ann so extreme measures needed to be taken “what do you mean you’re not sure?! it’s love your talking about you have to press forward no matter what”

“I know that but again I’m not sure if I do like anyone let alone love”

Shiho sees that she wasn’t getting nowhere and decides to sit back down and switching tactics

”well then ren there has to be someone you like as you turned down that one girl”

”maybe I do who knows” ren says knowing that shiho would be curious enough to press further

”aww cmon you can tell me”

”tell you what?” Ren had feigned ignorance

”don’t play games with me” it was super effective on the enemy shiho

”welp” ren stands up and stretches his arm “I guess I gotta go back for my curfew before my caretaker yells at me” ren starts to walk off before shiho could react “see ya!”

ren walks off leaving shiho think to herself “ _does he even like anyone or does he already have someone? Hmmm_ ” shiho looks up to see ren gone and as she was thinking to herself without realizing “wait! Where’d he go aughh dammit”

 


	16. The phantom thieves

Ren is walking back to Leblanc after barely escaping shiho’s increasing attempts to break his calm demeanor 

“she is really persistent”

” **I like her she really almost dug into you** ”

”like I’d let that happen I’m not that easy to pick apart”

” **Yea but I wish you let some of that emotions out more you know try to charm people to do your bidding** ”

”then I would feel as if I’m leading her on”

arsene sighs “ **too bad us gentlemen can’t hurt the feelings of a poor girl** ”

ren enters Leblanc to see sojiro standing around as they were still some lingering customers

”you’re busy”

”you still haven’t washed those dishes” he points to the stack of dirty dishes that piled in the sink

”I’ll get on that”

ren changes clothes and puts on his apron as he went cleaned the dishes that he promised to do after he got back

after ren finishes cleaning and helping sojiro with other tasks he heads back upstairs to get ready for bed when he checks his messages

[A: so his arrest spreaded like wildfire huh]

[S: yeah but I still wonder is we did the right thing]

[R: there’s no mistaken it we did the right]

[H: I believe so too we exposed a criminal for what he is]

[Ry: i would appreciate it if we had gotten some recognition for it that’d be the greatest just imagine the fame we’d be getting]

[H: mona says as if anyone would glance at you]

[Ry: tell that cat to shove it]

[Ry: if only that fake could give me a girlfriend you feel me right ren?]

[R: not really fame brings out the worst in people]

[S: well said]

[A: anyways we’re meeting in Shibuya I’m at noon right?]

[S: Yep! Don’t forget it!]

[R: well good night]

ren closes his phone as goes to bed without any more interruptions 

Daytime

the whole gang had met up in Shibuya like they said they would and they headed towards the hotel entering in and getting a seat near an empty table and sofas

after setting down their bags they each went up individually to get the food of their choice and after returning with large plates of food they go in and tear into their food

”this is sooo good” ryuji said while chewing on his food

”I know I can’t stop eating” ann said while also eating her stacks of desserts and other sweets

mona’s tail was wagging around as he munched on a plate of tuna while trying to be as inconspicuous as possible

”you guys are eating like it’s the end of the world” 

“of course I am shiho these desserts are soooo good” 

“uhh ann you got some syrup on your face”

”oh thanks” she wipes off the syrup from her mouth

Shiho leans in to ann’s ear “you shouldn’t be eating so sloppily ren is watching you after all”

ann blushes while looking to ren then back at shiho “shiho stop...”

shiho snickered while ren looked towards the two “you know it’s not cool to keep secrets when we’re over here celebrating”

”as if someone as mysterious as you could talk mr. phantom thief” shiho said in a smug tone

”don’t say that out loud” ren sighs “I have to lecture you guys in the real world too huh”

Haru giggled at their banter “i guess you guys are enjoying your meals”

”hell yeah” ryuji said while chomping down on a piece of steak

the other guests look on and chatter about the group while they eat their foods

ren stands up with his empty plate “well I’m gonna grab some more food”

ren walks off to the food stands while people stare at him and whisper about his friends while he grabs some more food

”isn’t that the daughter of Okumura?”

”why is she with some low life group?”

”I don’t understand why let allow children in here”

”who let them in?”

”that daughter probably gave them some money”

”what disgusting people invading our space”

ren ignores the insults and the remarks to his friends and him

” _these people really are as much of snobs as we expected_ ”

“ **Just ignore them they’re annoying to begin with** ”

ren comes back with a larger plate then before while his friends snack on their food

haru looks at ren’s balanced plate of food “that’s surprising of you ren”

”what is?”

”your plate is very balanced in nutrition” she stares at ann’s and ryuji’s plates “unlike these two”

”Hey! steak is very nutritious” 

“but you only have steak” ren said while staring at ryuji’s plate full of meat

“Not true there’s some sausage and some turkey in here”

”doesn’t change the fact that they’re no greens in there”

Haru lectured ryuji as if she was his mother ”ryuji you need to have a more balanced diet if you want to continue with our work” 

ryuji sulked while his head was dropping down “okay I guess you’re right”

haru gave a big smile “good!” She then looks at ann who was snacking on a piece of cake not paying attention to haru’s lecturing to ryuji “and you have too many desserts”

shiho looks at ann with envy from how she can eat so much yet not gain wait “your metabolism is insane”

”so? I’ve never had cake this good before”

“That doesn’t excuse a model like you to carelessly eat without thinking”

”but this is a one in a lifetime opportunity”

haru sighed while ann happily ate her cake

”well we have limited time anyways might as well get extra food”

some time passes by with several plates stacked at their table

ryuji sighed and let out a small burp “that was so much eating”

shiho also sighed as she was stuffed “you said it”

ren was pretty stuffed as well but he had something else on his mind 

“anyway guys I want to ask you something”

”and what would that be”

”well seeing as how we finished our first mission I was wondering if you guys still wanted to continue being apart of the team as you only did this to get back at kamoshida”

ryuji chuckles at ren’s question “of course we are you are still going for that asshole who got you here in the first place”

ann sighed while putting down her empty plate of what used to be a tart “even if we said no you’d still go for more people so we might as well stick with you before you end up getting yourself hurt”

haru giggled at ren’s questions “I’d like to keep helping people as to avoid another incident like what happened with kamoshida”

shiho chimed in “yeah who knows there could be people suffering and as long as we exist we can help them”

morgana picked his head up from the cat nap he was taking under the table “yeah and you still owe me for turning me down the first time we met”

ren laughed at their friends eagerness to find a new target “I see so then I guess our group has now officially formed”

”yeah! But hey before we go any further I’m about to puke”

morgana looked at ryuji with disappointment “you shouldn’t have eaten so much you moron”

”shut it! But I gotta head to the bathroom”

”here I’ll come with I think I might’ve stuffed myself a little too much”

both ren and ryuji head to the bathroom where ryuji puked up all the food he had stuffed himself with 

after both ren and ryuji exit the bathroom they head towards the elevators to meet up with their friends

”you really did puke all of your food”

”well now I can eat more”

ren sighs “you really are hopeless you know”

Ryuji presses the button to call the elevator then they are pushed aside by a bald man surrounded by a bunch of guards

Ryuji responds immediately frustrated that they shoved him and ren aside ”hey!”

One of the guards scoffs at ryuji “children like you shouldn’t be here”

”what did you say?”

ryuji was getting ready to get physical when he is stopped by ren before he could

the man in the center then speaks up and his voice is immediately recognized by ren “never mind them I have something important to go to”

”but sit we don’t need to rush things”

he faces the guard and speaks sternly looking down on him “did I ask for you opinion I have important things to attend to and not your personal recital now forget them and let’s get a move on before you regret it”

”r-right sir”

The elevator opens and they head inside leaving ren and ryuji frustrated and angry at them but both of them being angry for different reasons 

“what a dickhead”

ren was gritting his teeth and had a very angry scowl that would scare most people to death “He’s the guy...”

ryuji turns to him confused “the guy?...”

“Let’s just go before the others think we ditched them”

another elevator opens and they both enter inside leaving ryuji confused and worried about ren’s angry side

They go back and find their table where everyone was relaxing from all the food they ate

shiho was the first to notice them even though she was slumped over in here seat “hey guys what took you so long”

ryuji responded as ren still had an angry scowl showing on his face “some dickhead shoved us out of the way and looked down on us as if he was better than us”

ann sits up curious and mad that someone did that “what an ass hey maybe we can take his heart next”

ryuji held his stomach in pain as it still grumbled from puking and eating “how about tomorrow I don’t think I can handle more”

haru stands up stretching her arms out “then shall we call it a day and hang out another time?”

”please I don’t think I can handle being around more food”

they all leave the hotel and step at the entrance

shiho yawned “what a meal so I guess we all had a good time”

“Yep that was just as I thought it would be especially all of those desserts that were there”

haru giggled at ann’s Obsession with sweets “careful or you might gain weight”

”then we should train next time ren could show us the ropes”

ren chuckles “maybe then you won’t fall over exhausted next time”

ann look at ren angry and embarrassed that ren brought up something she wanted to forget “don’t bring that up”

The group laughed and shiho poked at ann “cmon let’s go before you pass out” 

“shiho!”

”we’ll see you guys”

they both leave in the same direction with ann talking to shiho about saying embarrassing things

 “anyways I guess I’ll see you guys at school tomorrow I’m too tired to keep going”

“Wait then can you take morgana he said he wanted to discuss things with you” haru hold out the cat who was napping on haru’s bag a little fatter than usual

”sure” ren takes morgana and stuffs him in his bag and heads off to the station leaving the 2 to themselves 

“That dudes hiding something I can tell”

haru looks over to ryuji 

“I see so I’m not the only one”

”should we pry it out of him?”

”let’s wait for now maybe he’ll open up to us more”

“well I guess I’m gonna go before my mom worries about where I am”

Haru giggled ”you really care about your mom a lot”

”yeah she’s been through a lot so I have to help her with whatever I can”

”have fun” haru said as she smiled at ryuji as he ran of leaving haru to wait for her limo alone

Leblanc 

ren enters the store with morgana still taking a cat nap in his bag 

sojiro is sitting at one of the stools having a smoke break

“Hey boss”

”I see you’re back”

”yep”

”better not be getting into any trouble”

”don’t worry I’m not”

morgana wakes up and starts to stretch his paws out of ren’s bag

”I see that cats back again and did he gain weight? What is your friend feeding him?”

”oh he just ate some tuna but he might be gaining weight”

morgana hears the both of them calling him fat and gets angry hearing these baseless slanders against his pride “Hey I’m not fat!!”

”Seems the cat doesn’t feel too happy with being fat”

ren laughs as he walks towards the stairs leading to the attic “he might not be” 

Ren then sets his bag down letting morgana leave his bag and climbing the workbench he had set up

”you know you really are gaining weight”

morgana then gets into fight ready mode as he was about to go and scratch ren ”IM NOT”

Ren chuckles at the poor cat “Anyways what was it that you wanted to discuss with me”

”it’s about ann”

”what about her?”

”YOU KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF MY GIRL”

”huh?!?!”

”you hear me keep your hands off my girl”

”you’re joking right?”

”nope because I’ll prove to her that I’m a better man than you”

ren was both stunned and shocked that he was being challenged by a cat and arsene arrives at a perfect time

” **I’m back from scouting around and nothing’s changed** ”

” _not the time_ ”

morgana then sits up and points his paw at ren who still had a stunned look on him ”I morgana challenge you to a duel to see who’s right for her heart”

arsene without a second to think starts to laugh uncontrollably as he looks at the cat try to act all macho

ren is trying to control his laughing as arsene’s laughs was contagious and morgana wasn’t helping either although he couldn’t see him “so you’re challenging me for a girl”

”yes because I know you have feelings for her”

”what?”

”don’t lie I’ve seen how lovey dovey you get with her”

”have I?”

” **a little** ”

”SEE! You didn’t deny it so I know you like her so prepare fore war Ren Amamiya because I’m bringing the fight to you”

” _do I have feelings for her?_ ”

arsene shrugs his shoulders “ **I don’t know I’m not your inner conscious I’m just your inner personality** ”

“So then the challenge is on but before that”

ren looks at the cat waiting for his next response

”Go to bed”

”what”

”bed, now”

”do you do this on haru??”

”Yeah”

ren then picks up the cat by his shoulders like a small child “you can’t force someone like that you’re their mother and that’s very disrespectful and rude”

morgana’s ears flop down as he realizes he shouldn’t boss haru around like that “I’m sorry I guess I’ll apologize to her”

”good! Let me do some exercises before I go to bed though”

”alrighty” ren Dey morgana down and he does some pull ups on one of the rafters and he does other exercises as he prepares for bed

_**Velvet room** _

both of the wardens see ren’s progress as the three of them have a constant watch on him at all times 

caroline stares over to Igor and goes into a salute as to not be rude to Igor “master is there any reason why you gave those abilities to the inmate”

igor laughs “for his rehabilitation to proceed further he must grow and we must sponsor his growth as much as possible”

”I see” caroline stares over at justine who is flipping the papers on her clipboard 

Caroline sighs as she looks down to see ren training with a strange cat that she feels like she has seen before “strange that cat really is ugly but strange”

they see ren head to bed as they sit there waiting for his next arrival


	17. Good friends

After school

The bell had rang and ren had already packed up and was strolling through the school building before he was about to leave while other students chatter about him while arsene floats next to him

”should we talk to him?”

”no he still has that criminal record”

”yet he knows everything not to mention he doesn’t look like a criminal”

“Still he might kill us if we push him the wrong way”

ren sighed as the rumors still went on even though kamoshida was long gone and all of the rumors were shown to mainly be false

” _you’d think they’d stop_ ”

” **kinda hard to as the first month you join you were surrounded by almost every shady rumor there was** ”

” _it really can be a pain_ ”

” **aw c’mon where’s that cool calm guy who said let rumors be rumors more than a week ago** ”

” _still here but now all bored as I have to be an actual good student until I find my next target_ ”

“ **Considering you put yourself high on stage with you many fights with kamoshida I wouldn’t expect much** ”

“ _when will it end?_ ”

ren heads downstairs and sees ryuji slumped over the wall 

“do you usually hang out near walls after school”

ryuji looks up at him

”I have nothing to do after school so I’m trying to kill time”

”well want to kill some time together?”

“Sure I don’t know how much I can take of being made fun of for falling over”

”yeah well I’ll see you in the courtyard”

**_Some time passes_ **

Ryuji has his hands on his knees panting while staring at the floor with sweat dripping off of his head while ren stands next to him 

“I’m so not used to this”

”I mean you did good for someone who just got back into track”

ryuji looks up at him with a jealous look

”yeah but you’re not as worked up as I am”

”true..but that’s because I’ve been training for two years”

”man if only I had your body I could finally have a girlfriend...if only you would use your charms in the right place”

Ren sighs as if wasn’t entirely important to get a girlfriend as it would be too difficult to juggle being a vigilante and love life 

“it would be too hard to balance our work and love life”

”dude you’re a buzz kill”

“Well do you want to keep going or should we throw it in for today”

”let’s just throw it in just watching you effortlessly run makes me hungry”

”it took me two years to get here man you probably need at least a month or two”

”yeah but hey let’s go eat some ramen”

”I’m paying again aren’t i?”

“Yes you are” ryuji gives a big smile as he smacks his shoulder and walks off before ren could change his mind 

Ren sighs as they go back in to change into school uniform 

they take the train and head towards the same ramen shop that ryuji always goes to 

They both sit down and order ramen and once it comes out they chow down into their food

in between chews ryuji looks over at ren

”so ren you said you’ve been going in and out of palaces for more than 2 years”

after ren finishes swallowing some noodles he looks back at ryuji

”yeah why?”

”was there any reason you became one?”

”oh...yeah there was” 

ryuji gets more eager wanting to know about how ren became the badass he is now 

ren gives a light chuckle “it was similar to what happened with you guys”

”really that’s cool so did you kick his ass?”

”yeah...I made sure of it”

”nice man” ryuji slurps the rest of ramen then slams the empty bowl down “anyways I gotta run thanks for the meal”

Ren sits there for a bit then leaves while placing the money for the meal on the counter and exiting the shop

ren takes the train back to Shibuya and decides to stroll around the city for a bit 

arsene pops out of ren circling him as he floats  around him 

“ **hard to remember I’m guessing?** ”

”...”

ren stays silent while he walks around Shibuya

“ **you can’t run away from your problems forever ren** ”

”...”

arsene sighs “ **at some point you’ll crack** ”

”...”

” **I guess I’m not getting anything out of you** ”

”...”

” **oh well** ”

arsene floats around ren but gives up in talking to ren so ren is now just walking by himself

before ren could walk more he hears a feminine voice call out his name

”ren?”

ren turns around to see ann in some fancy clothing

”hey ann...what’s with the outfit”

”oh I’m a model so I get to wear these types of clothing I just left one of my shoots”

ren smiles while chuckling “yeah I can see that with someone as pretty as you”

ann blushes from ren’s comment as tries to talk without letting her emotions pour out of her “o-oh u-um tha-thank you ren I appreciate it”

ren chuckles from her noticeable blushing “so I’m guessing you’re leaving a shoot?”

“Yeah I just left but wanna grab some ice cream on the way?”

”sure there’s one nearby and they’re some benches too so we could sit down”

they go to the shop and sit down at the benches once they get their ice cream

Ann laughs as she looks to ren enjoying his ice cream “I guess I haven’t properly thanked you for all that you’ve done for me”

ren switches his focus to ann “you don’t need to I mean you decided to join the team so I think thats good enough for me”

ann pouts as joining the team wasn’t enough of a thank you “well that’s not good enough for me”

ren sighs but smiles “then I guess I hope your thank you is a good one”

ann returns the smiles as she says excitedly “don’t worry! it will be the most extravagant thank you that you won’t even believe”

they both laugh “well thanks for that ann not a lot of people have been willing to do that”

”really?”

”Yeah only my close friends and family have” he chuckles while trying to say it “I never really fit in my old school I was just eye candy to them”

“And anything they said to you didn’t feel genuine”

”yep”

”we’ve suffered the same things crazy huh”

”yeah it really is” 

ann noticed that ren facial expression switched as she might’ve accidentally hit a sensitive topic for ren so she panicked as this conversation was going good so she desperately tried to change subjects before it gets worse

”oh! I didn’t mean to be a downer I just-”

” _crap what do I say so I can improve the mood?_ ” 

“W-well did you know that me and shiho we used to come here and one time she slipped and dropped her ice cream and I laughed at her while she looked at it heartbroken that she couldn’t enjoy it”

ren looks at her confused on where’s she taking this as ann nervously laughed and panicked even more that ren didn’t laugh but looked even more sadder at least that’s what she thought 

“You know every since kamoshida confessed and got arrested the rumors between us have died down hehe”

Ren still looked at her with the same confused look not knowing how to respond

”hey I mean now you have us and we’ll always be here to support you”

”ann...”

”don’t worry about it now we’re a team so you don’t have to be so alone”

”ann...”

”as long as we’re here we’ll be fine”

”ann!”

“Huh?”

ann snapped out of her train of thought and looked at ren as he looked at her with a smile as he chuckled

”you don’t need to try so hard to cheer me up”

”well I ruined the mood so I wanted to bring it up”

”you’re real sweet ann”

ann blushes as she giggled “thanks shiho tells me that sometimes”

”well I mean it but you don’t need to try so hard to cheer me up I already enjoy my new life with you guys”

”really?”

”yeah so you don’t need to be so anxious around me I already like having you guys around helping me help others in need”

”thanks”

”it’s cool so don’t try so hard” ren looked at his ice cream which was melting as the conversation went on so he ate it in a couple of bites 

ann stared at her ice cream passionately that ren was really happy that he met them 

“well I gotta run before my caretaker yells at me”

”oh bye” 

they wave eachother goodbye as ren walks away happier then he when he got there

Ren walked to the station with a grin eating face

” **is ren catching something? is it love maybe??** ” Arsene said as he tried poking into ren

ren simply stared back at his ghostly patron not denying arsene’s assumptions but just going with them

”who knows maybe I am”

” **wouldn’t hurt to just say it now** ”

”nope!”

” **awww c’mon** ”

”maybe when we get home”

” **you’re a pain** ”


	18. Mementos

Lunchtime

the entire group is at the courtyard tables discussing their next move for their new team

ryuji turns his phone around to show the whole group “have you guys seen the site Mishima put up?”

ann looks at his phone and reads the text “the phantom aficionado website”

”you said Mishima put that up”

”yeah apparently after the whole kamoshida thing he made the site and it’s gotten some popularity”

Morgana then jumped onto the table to grasp their attention

”well then you guys still owe me so you have to help me for my mission”

”mission?” ryuji looks confused as he didn’t know cats could have missions

“We can use that site to look more more targets to get”

”how?”

morgana sighs “although we have to look more big shots to make us more popular”

”so we can find some smaller guys to fry and that’ll help us with training and for helping people”

morgana looks at ryuji surprised that he said something actually smart for once and not something that’d piss him off

”wow I didn’t expect that response from you”

”I’m not that dumb” ryuji looked at the cat annoyed

“Anyways” shiho said as she came in between the two before I fight started “you said we could look for targets so let’s look for some”

they each went onto their phones in search for some targets

ryuji says annoyed that he can’t find any decent targets “all of these aren’t any good should we look for some after school”

haru agreed with ryuji as going into the metaverse while in school was a very bad idea “indeed we still have to act as normal students”

shiho groaned at the thought of having to do school still “especially with midterms coming up soon”

both ryuji and ann flinched and the words ‘midterms’ and ‘study’

shiho looked at the both of them with eyes that could kill “you guys have been catching up with your studies right?”

ann nervously speaks hoping shiho wouldn’t  bash her like the other times she found out that ann didn’t study for her tests “y-yeah I have I don’t know about ryuji through”

ryuji although oblivious to most things but he could obviously see the killer intent in shiho’s eyes and knew that if he admitted that his grades weren’t so great that’d his body would most likely end up in the alleyway outside the school because that’s about as far as he could run before she caught up to her

”o-of course ren been..helping me out a lot you see”

ryuji switched shiho’s eyes off of him to ren but ren stayed as cool headed as ever

”ren you’re helping ryuji?”

”yeah I had pretty good grades back in my old school”

”oh really so has ryuji learned a lot from you?”

ren although cool and calm on the outside gets a dastardly idea in his head “I do but alas” ren then puts an over dramatic sigh “ryuji just doesn’t seem to care about education”

” **that’s just cruel in every sense** ”

” _I think it’s fair_ ”

Ryuji looked at ren with the most shocked look that his best friend just sold him out but before he could plead why he sold him out he had to deal with shiho who look liked she was about to tear into ryuji as  she gripped her hands onto ryuji’s short collar

haru jumped in with the most innocent smile as she looked at the group as the murder that was about to take place 

”then why don’t we have a study session” 

shiho dropped her grip on ryuji’s shirt as she happily agreed with haru

”that’s a great idea as we have to have a healthy balance for school and our work”

morgana shivered at shiho’s attempted murder that almost happened in front of him “is that why you almost killed ryuji”

”listen we should all get a good balance for our lives before we end up being screwed over because we can’t plan things out” shiho fakes coughs “ryuji”

ann chimes in “but haru aren’t you a third year you wouldn’t benefit from us studying”

”actually” everyone looks to ren as he’s speaking “I think i could help her study after all what you’re learning isn’t too far off from what we’re learning”

haru giggled as she smiles “then it’s settled when shall have a study session before midterms”

”I’d rather have it now seeing as these two don’t seem to be doing so hot”

ryuji and ann shiver as shiho grabs ann’s shoulder and ren grabs ryuji’s 

“are we cool?”

the intimidating aura ren gave out made ryuji shiver

”don’t hurt me...”

“As long as you’ll study and not pull all nighters”

”I will”

while ren ‘convinced’ ryuji to go shiho was whispering to ann

”ann this is a good chance to get closer to ren”

ann blushed at the realization “I don’t know I might be too pushy”

”I can tell he’s falling for you”

”wait how?”

“The way he looks at you now is way different than before”

“t-then I’ll go”

while shiho chuckled at ann’s New found confidence to study morgana signaled to get everyone’s attention 

“ahem if you guys will stop threatening eachother I have to show you something after school”

ren looked at the cat “really?”

”yes and it’ll also help me achieve my human form”

ryuji surprised by the cat’s ideal goal “wait you were human?”

”of course I am! At least I think I’m not too sure myself but I am positive I am and once I do become human I will finally be able to confess my feeling for lady ann”

they all looked at the cat with either a confused face or a blank one

”you have to hand it to him he has aspirations”

”he’s still weird in that sense”

”well then I guess I’ll see you guys after school” haru said as she picked up morgana and placed him in her bag

“Yeah I guess it’s time for us to go”

They all get up before the bell for lunch rings

**_Principals office_ **

makoto steps into the office as she was called in by the principal 

 “You called me?”

”yes I did as you heard with the entire situation with kamoshida-kun he was arrested for several charges”

”yes but how does that associate with me”

”well it’s rumored that a certain student was involved with kamoshida so I need you to investigate on this student”

”I see I will try to find out as much as I can from this student”

”thank you well i have to take an important call just about now so you may step out and go back to you class and if you do happen to find whoever was involved I’ll recommend you to any college you wish for”

”thank you Mr. Kobayakawa”

makoto steps out of the room while mr kobayakawa takes a call from someone

Afterschool

**_Shibuya square_**  

Everyone had met up at Shibuya due to morgana’s wishes

ryuji sat down near on the ground while the rest of them stood near the entrance of a staircase into the station 

“well then cat why are we here?”

”open that phantom aficionado website”

they all open the website

”now what”

”look for a target with a name in it”

ryuji sighs “again?...”

“Just do it”

they all scout the website in search for a good target with a name in it

”you guys got anything”

shiho turns her phone around to a certain request by someone “I found one it says my ex boyfriend stalks me and I think it’s starting to get out of hand”

”that’s the perfect one ok now open the MetaNav”

Ren opens the MetaNav to see a blank red screen with 3 text boxes “now what?”

”put in his name”

”ok?  _Nakanohara Natsuhiko“_

”Ok now all we need to put in is Mementos”

”mementos?”

NOW ENTERING

they all are surprised by this location morgana loaded in as the pedestrians around them disappear and the sky turns red/purple 

they reappear in the subway with their clothes already changed

”wait we’re in a subway and out clothes already changed”

morgana turns around and begins to introduce the place to them “welcome to mementos a place of everyone’s cognition”

”wait everyone’s cognition so it’s like a palace?”

”Yes this is basically everyone’s palace and a safe haven for shadows”

”safe haven? _Jackpot_ ” ren inwardly grinned 

” **seems we found the source of the shadows** ”

” _it’s odd though why here?_ ”

“ **There must be an even more secret reason this is here** ”

” _seems we’ll have to find out ourselves after this_ ”

ann groans “so we have to walk through this entire track down?”

morgana chuckles “not exactly lady ann”

morgana then steps to the side “guess it’s my time.......MORGANA TRANSFORM” morgana then does a pose and transforms into a black van with yellow stripes, cat ears, blue eyes for headlights and a tail

”step inside lady ann it’s warm”

they all stood there shocked with ryuji being the first one to speak about the transformer that sat in front of them

”how-HOW ARE YOU A CAR”

”I don’t know I guess cats turning into french vans is a pretty common thing but anyways step inside”

they all get into the back of the van even thought it’s a little cramp

”umm is anyone gonna drive?”

”you can’t drive yourself?”

”of course I can’t! one of you has to step out and drive yourself”

they all stare at one another trying to figure out who’s gonna drive the catvan

“why doesn’t raven drive I can’t because I might accidentally crash and she’s pretty steady when I comes to these things”

ryuji was the first to throw the ball and it landed onto shiho

”you know I can’t when there’s shadow around I get nervous” she referred to when they were in kamoshida’s palace and shiho got scared by one of the shadows that popped out of nowhere and she missed her shot and accidentally shot ren in the arm

ren rubbed his arm remembering that time “I agree, good thing it wasn’t a real gun”

”panther why don’t you drive”

”but I don’t know how to drive, noir what about you?”

”no I certainly could not as I haven’t even touched a steering wheel I’m only driven by my limo driver”

”right..then joker you do it”

”but I don’t have a license”

”dude there aren’t any cops here you’re good”

ren steps out of the van and step into the driver’s seat while ryuji slides into the passenger seat

”ok let’s go!”

they start to drive forward through the dark dim lit subway looking at the weird scenery and the twists and turns were filled with dead ends and weird ‘branches’ until they saw a black and red monster filled with black ooze and masks

”look a shadow joker what do we do”

ren smirks “floor it” ren then steps onto the gas pedal putting the van at top speed with everyone in the van screaming as they hurdled towards the poor unsuspecting shadow

”JOKERRRRRR!!!!!”

”DUDE SLOW DOWN!!!!”

”WE’RE GONNA DIE!!!!”

except haru for some reason who was enjoying it a little too much

”weeeeee haha this is so much fun”

they quickly rushed the shadow as they were about to drive into it

”gotcha..”

the shadow turned around only to be smacked by a van at top speed and tumbling down the railway

the van drifts as ren hit the brakes

ryuji, ann and shiho all scream ass they huddled down the railway

the van stopped and ren jumps out ready to attack the stunned shadow “cmon guys let’s go get him”

“Right!” haru the only one not pale from their dance with death runs along to fight the shadow alongside ren

morgana then shifts back into cat form and joins them “c’mon guys we have to back them up”

ryuji bends forward trying to catch his breath “in a minute I think my life flashed before my eyes”

both shiho and ann were holding eachother not responding to any of it

”a-are w-we alive?”

”I-I-I think so”

the three finish off the shadow leaving on a small little shadow begging on the floor while the 3 pointed their guns at it

” **wait please don’t hurt I’ll do anything I have stuff I have money just please don’t hurt me** ”

“Wait do shadows even have money?” haru sat there trying to figure out how some random shadow could carry cash

”alright then join me”

the 2 looked at ren shockingly 

“joker, what do you mean?”

the shadow in front of them cheered overjoyed by his offer

” **yippee ok then I’m no longer an enemy I shall now be apart of you** ”

the shadow does a chant and disappears into joker’s mask

mona looks at ren while putting down his sling shot “joker is that how you have more than one persona?”

”yeah basically”

haru then claps her hands together and smiles “splendid I like that way instead of pointing out weapons at it much more peaceful”

they turn around to see the 3 still trying to calm down from their adrenaline filled ride they were just on

”are you guys ok?”

ryuji picks his head up to face the three “do we look ok to you?!?”

Haru tilts her head in confusion “what do you mean?”

”I think joker shouldn’t drive anymore”

mona scoffs at ryuji’s demand “what’re talking about that was pretty nice driving skills although you shouldn’t force the pedal on like that that kinda hurt you know”

“My bad I thought that was the appropriate response to seeing a shadow”

ann recovered from her frightened pale state but still shivered from the bumpy ride “I think you should’ve let us know beforehand so we don’t accidentally lose our hearts”

“I will next time anyways let’s go find that ex boyfriend before another shadow pops up”

mona reverts back to van form and everyone gets back on and heads forward

except the three took a bit longer to get back in as they were still a bit weak

after heading down even more they hit a dead end but instead of it being a normal dead end there was a red swirl along with some broken tracks

”this seems to be the place”

ryuji leaned towards the dashboard in shock of this weird twister that he was seeing

everyone else gasped at this teleported entrance type of area they were heading towards

“Well let’s go”

ren drove into the swirling thing and they landed into some unknown area where a man and a business suit stood there with a strange aura around him

They all walk up to him and he scoffs at the group

”what’re you doing here”

haru prudly exclaimed “we’re here to change your heart and you shouldn’t stalk your ex girlfriend like that”

“Tch why’re you going after me there’s millions worse then me like Madarame”

ryuji looked at him confused at the name “Madarame? who the hell is that?”

”well it doesn’t matter because I can do whatever I want because she treated me like a plaything so I can do the same”

he transforms into a shadow and attacks the group

a couple minutes of semi intense fighting later nakanohara reverted back to human form as he laid there on his knees

”so then will you stop stalking your ex now?”

”Yea I see the errors in my ways but before you go I would like for you to do a request for me”

”which is?”

”stop Madarame he was my teacher and he put me through hell stop him before he goes after his next student”

he disappears without being able to be questioned further

haru stands there thinking about who this madarame person could be when it hits her ”madarame...madarame ooh wait I know who he is” 

ren stares at haru waiting for an answer “who is it?”

”he’s this famous painter who is known across Japan for his art I known him because he has done a few meetings with my dad before but he has a lot of accusations against him”

”hmmm...sounds like the perfect target for our next heist”

”well then guys lets go back to the surface and discuss about it”

they all head back to the real world from where they came from more tired as they had ran around way more then they did in kamoshida’s palace

shiho stretched her arms as the van was a little tight to sit in with little room and not having to get out as much as ren would straight up drive into shadows over the normal speed limit of highways and take them out like that

“anyways I guess it’s late so I’ll see you all at school tomorrow?”

”yeah see you”

they all separate in different directions while ren sits there acting as if he was going to but instead he opens his phone and disappears into mementos once again

Evening

**_Bath house_ **

ren is sitting in the hot water resting from his extra training into mementos as he dwelled even deeper getting more personal and exploring new parts of mementos

” **seemed that cat knew a lot more than what we wanted”**

” _it’s great now we know where the shadows originate from but there has to be something deeper than just desires right?_ ”

” **Yes I have to agree but what about what about the others?** ”

” _what about them_ ”

” **well you seemed like you still want to do this all alone”**

” _I do...but I can’t just abandon them like that they all seem really adamant about saving others especially ann and I can’t seem to just go up and drop them like that what kind of man would I be_ ”

” **sounds like you have a crush my friend** ”

” _I do not_ _but who cares about that right now_ ”

arsene floats down as he sits next to ren with his arm over ren’s shoulder as he looked at him “ **listen man I get it you’re in love and now you gotta show it but don’t worry your persona will be with you every step of the way** ”

arsene looks at ren with a look of I got your back partner

ren stared at him irritated that that was the only thing he picked up

”well it’s time to go I don’t wanna burn myself”

ren gets up and leaves to return back to Leblanc 


	19. Study session

After school

the entire group had met up at the entrance again to discuss for their study session as they were waiting for haru to finish her gardening in the rooftops

ryuji groaned “do we really have to do this”

shiho slapped him over the head “of course we do what kind of hero slacks off for school but not for their heroic duties”

“What’s the point if I can’t get a girl what reason is there to go forward”

ren sighs “maybe once you fix that personality of yours you might get one”

shiho and ann snickered at ren’s comment while ryuji looked at him with a look of betrayal “ren come on I thought you’d at least have my back”

”I don’t know considering you’ve been a real pain when we go out for ramen”

“It was only one time!”

”one too many ryuji”

before ryuji could go into a further depression haru runs over to them

”sorry guys I just had to take care of the garden on the roof”

”it’s cool although it’s pretty impressive you’re growing vegetables on the roof”

haru giggles “Why thank you anyways let’s go to my house for our study session”

they all continue on as they take the limo towards haru’s suite

they enter into her suite and it seem to sparkle even more than usual

shiho looked on even after she saw the scenery once before it was still very impressive to her as she couldn’t take her eyes off of any piece of nice furniture  

they all sat at the same white couch as they dumped their notebooks and textbooks onto the table as they got ready for their study session

morgana sat on the floor and took a nap as to not anger the maid when she comes to check on everybody

shiho crosses her arms “still I feel bad you won’t be learning a bit more haru since you’re a third year and we’re all second years”

haru giggles at shiho’s worried expression “nonsense I have had good grades all 3 years so it wouldn’t matter that much if I didn’t try my full hardest”

Shiho hugged haru which surprised haru “haru you’re to pure for this world”

Ren stood up after laughing as to get their attention “anyways before we lose track of time let’s get this study session started”

shiho let go of haru and then set her plan in motion “seeing as that there is five of us me and haru will help ryuji study as he’s the most likely to fail if he doesn’t study and ren you’ll help ann” she winked at ann which made her blush a bit

ryuji got frustrated that two girls were helping him study “hey! why are the both of you helping me I don’t need some girls to help me study”

shiho slapped ryuji on the back of the head again “weren’t you the only first year to almost be held back last year if you don’t want to repeat last years mistakes then don’t complain!”

Ryuji although reluctant decided to give up his fight and let the both of them study as to not let the situation escalate further and to not let morgana also poke fun at him

“Well then I’ll leave ann to you ren”

”right”

ann sat there thinking about ren helping her study “ _would he look at me as if I’m a nuisance or just helpless if I can’t match up with shiho with how smart she is aughh I don’t know if he’ll look at me like I’m just useless_ ”

”ann?” ren called her name as ann was spacing out

”huh? uh yeah what’s up”

”you seem stressed are you ok”

”oh I’m fine it’s just...” ann blushed that ren was worried for her well being

”studying sucks right?”

”y-yeah”

”it’s cool all of us have our strengths and weaknesses so I’ll try to make everything a bit more simpler for you to understand”

”thanks” ann smiled at ren’s willingness to help anyone “I wish I could help you”

”well you’re american right? So you could help me with my english” a sort of a lie as ren’s english was pretty good but was the weakest of his subjects by far 

they study session went on with ryuji being scolded by shiho for messing up certain question while haru helped the both of them study and recapped on all the things she studied over the start of her third year while ren was helping ann with everything but occasionally got certain things purposely wrong as to test ann with her problem solving skills

after awhile morgana wakes up and they all have their books on the table tired out from studying in preparation for their midterms in 2 days and reiko brings them some baked goods

 “Aww sweet some snacks” ryuji immediately grabs a sweet bread and starts eating 

“have some manners” ann says being disgusted by ryuji’s lack of manner and just digging in 

”but they’re soooo good”

”they can’t be that good” ann picks up a cookie and bites into and her go teary from how delicious it was “ryuji i forgive you”

”I know right”

shiho sighs as she bites into a cookie “you guys are hopeless” *chomp* shiho starts to tremble from the amount of flavor and love that was put into this one small cookie that she starts to cry “it’s too good it shouldn’t be legal”

 Both ren and haru laugh as they saw all their friends succumb to sweet baked treats

”mmm yes they are indeed delicious” she turns towards reiko “excellent job as always”

she bows “your words are too kind miss” she starts to walk off “well I’ll be getting some refreshments for your friends so I’ll be right back”

”thank you” ann says as she bites into another cookie

ryuji mumbles “these really are a treat after our days of just doing requests and school”

”this really is heaven” shiho tears of joy were still coming out as she couldn’t comprehend the flavor that was in her mouth “this is way better than the desserts back in that buffet”

ann agreed as she couldn’t stop eating “this is wayyy better”

ryuji also agreed as he started to lick the crumbs off of his fingers as he couldn’t get enough of it “haru you’re so lucky for having this good of a maid”

ren chuckled after he swallowed a cookie “money really can buy stuff like this”

reiko walks back with a plate full of tall drinks and she sets it down onto the table next to the almost empty plate of baked treats

they all pick up a glass and ryuji turns towards ren

”wanna see who can chug the fastest?”

”pretty dumb but I’m not backing down regardless”

shiho sighs “boys...”

haru giggles “this is quite fun”

they both chug their drinks down and drop it onto the table

ryuji won the contest as he was able to chug his drink faster than ren

after chugging ryuji congratulated himself

”WOOO I guess I’m the winner”

“It was well expected from the way you down your ramen”

”true but man was that good”

they all laugh as ann starts to take a sip of her drink

she immediately spits it out and coughs 

haru takes notice and starts to pat her back to let the air flow back in “ann-chan are you ok?”

”is this liquor??”

shiho a little confused tastes her drink to the same effect “holy crap this is and it’s really strong” she then takes a sip of her own drink “but my drink doesn’t have any booze in it”

haru takes a sip of hers “mine either” she then stares daggers at reiko who is standing there documenting the effects “reiko why did you put liquor into our drinks?”

she adjusts her glasses “well there were 3 drinks that were spiked with alcohol and they were meant for the three of you but it seemed that one of you has a good eye for alcohol”

”of course I do! who knows what might happen if I don’t when I model”

”but reiko why did you do it?”

”to test the men in how they handled with you three drunk if they were to try to do unspeakable things I’d crush them it was also a test to see if your male friends weren’t just trying to get into your skirt miss”

”well I appreciate the thought I can handle my personal life on my own”

shiho then realized something and looked at the other 2 in shock “wait if they’re 3 drinks with alcohol and ann has one of them”

the other 2 also come to realization into what is happening as they look around to see ryuji rolling on the floor in a daze

”haha..look *hiccup* I can become a *hiccup* tornadooo hehe”

morgana was then nuzzling against ann as he rubbed his head against her leg “lady ann I’m here to protect you”

reiko them picks up the drunken morgana “it seems as the cat has accidentally drank some of the liquor when you spit some of it out” she then puts the cat in her arms “I’ll take care of him but I’d watch out for the frizzy haired one”

she walks away to put morgana to sleep in his room

”wait frizzy haired one?” 

they all gasp at the realization that one of them was missing “REN!”

before they can start their search a shujin jacket is thrown onto the table along with a white sweater with the shujin logo on it

the 3 of them slowly turn their heads towards the window to see ren with his back turned towards them as he stood there shirtless with only his checkered uniform pants on as he looked out the window

he turns around and exposes his face without his glasses something they only saw when he summoned his persona and his toned up solid abs and the scar on his chest from when he got stabbed in Kyoto over a year ago. it only serves to make him more charming and alluring to look at

ren slowly walked towards them as they sat there not knowing how to react

”you guys worried for me?” As he said in low sultry voice

shiho responded but she was too consumed by  the face ren was making it also didn’t help that his body was built to last too and it was making shiho sweat bullets “y-yea are you ok?”

ren chuckled “or course I am why wouldn’t I be” he walked up to her and whispered into her ear “it’s cute when you make a face like that” he then blew some wind into her ear which knocked her out on the couch from trying to comprehend the events that were happening 

the other two looked at eachother wondering what might happen next

haru stood up trying to calm down ren “ok ren how about we sit down now” ren started to pat her fluffy hair with his hands which confused her “ren?”

ren giggled as secretly he always wanted to touch haru’s fluffy brown hair “hehe floofy *hiccup* ”

haru turns back to ann who also stares at her blankly and shrugs as she has no idea what to do in this situation

ren then also whispers into her ear “gotcha”

haru immediately turned around to see ren’s face near millimeters from touching her as he smugly smiles at haru

her nervous and anxious expression as she slightly blushed and awaited her fate to ren’s charms

ren kissed her forehead which made her heart skip a beat as she fell to her knees holding her head not knowing what to do as she was stuck in a self induced trance

ann saw the two of them casualties to ren’s charm and cunning tactics as he walked towards her as she sat at the other couch not knowing whether or not she should fight back or run away but that might lead to ren pursuing further so she decided to take the easy way out

ren slammed one of his hand onto the couch next to ann’s head 

ann decided to close her eyes and wait for her impending doom as her checks were red from embarrassment and her heart was beating very rapidly and so hard that ren could probably feel it “ _god why am I letting this happen do I secretly want this to happen? what have I become??_ ”

ren let out a deep breath and ann’s eyes shut even tighter as she couldn’t do anything as deep down she sort of wanted this to happen

”I can’t go this far”

ann opened her eyes to see ren’s worried face turn into a smile as he saw her beautiful blue eyes come out 

“you’ve been through a lot and I don’t know if I could go that far I don’t know if you’re still effected by what kamoshida almost did to you. I care for you too much to go further then what might be overly uncomfortable for you” 

” _as if this wasn’t far enough. but wait he cares for me too much does that mean he likes me and he wasn’t sure if the kamoshida incident was still hurting me_ ” ann smiles at ren and then realizes that if he’s drunk she can pry some more info out of him “hey ren do you like me?”

”for a while yes you helped me realize that helping others with friends is the best decision for me to do”

”but aren’t we annoying as we’re not all as strong as you”

”nonsense, I care for you all alot but ann it seems you’re the one to struck a cord deep within me”

ren coursed his fingers through her hair

“A cord deep within you...” she giggled as she blushed at ren’s ‘confession’ but that also meant also meant that ann has a perfect chance to ask out ren 

before the conversation could go further ren is hit on the head by reiko as she knocks ren out by hitting him with the same tray she used to serve the drinks and cookies with

”reiko?”

reiko dusts off her hands as she also took out ryuji before he rolled off and smacks his head into something “not what I intended to happen but I got similar effects into what I wanted to achieve”

”wait this really was a test!”

”it seems these boys haru brought over can be trusted at least the frizzy haired one” she said as ryuji groaned while taking a nap while holding his stomach

”what do you mean”

reiko sighs “most men hide their real desires when they are sober and only release them when they’re really drunk but it seems even if he’s drunk he cares about your feelings maybe   you’re special to him or it could also be the effect of something else in his brain but I’m not a doctor so I wouldn’t know”

ann looked down at ren who was taking a nap in her lap as she caressed his frizzy black hair “he really is holding back from in inner desires. _It could also be that his persona is a charming gentleman thief so that might be another reason_ ”

”we’ll then I guess I’ll leave them to you I’ll be off doing some fixing around the place and some other chores” reiko walks off leaving the mess to ann who was the only one conscious as shiho was still passed out and haru tuckered herself out and both of the guys were snoozing from their brains turning into mush 

“guess it wouldn’t hurt to sleep also” ann closed her eyes as she also slept with ren still having his head on her lap as she helped him lay on the couch

Evening

ren woke up and yawned as he sat up and stretched his arms to see the three girls all sat next to eachother silent each with blank faces 

ryuji also woke up as he was laying on the floor and he cracked his back as sleeping on a hard floor isn’t the most comfortable thing to sleep on 

“hey dude, why are you not wearing your shirt”

ren looked down to see his chest and abs exposed and quickly went to grab his sweater and shirt which was still sprawled on the table

he put them on and turned to the 3 girls who still sat there emotionless “hey guys what happened all I know is that I chugged that drink and I woke up on the couch”

shiho responded in low emotionless tone “nothing happened”

”ok?”

ryuji stood up and stood up and sat next to ren “hey how’d you get that scar on your chest”

ren had forgotten that he has a scar on his chest for a second “oh I would tell you but it’s getting late so maybe next time”

”cool well then I guess we should go” ryuji went to grab his books and stuffed them into his bag he looked towards the girls who still sat there blankly “you guys good?”

haru responded in the same emotionless tone that shiho was talking in “we’re fine”

”we’ll i guess I’ll see you guys at school come on ren let’s go”

ren gathered his books and also left with ryuji “see you guys”

ann also was in the same emotionless tone that the others were in “bye”

they entered the elevator and went down to the ground floor and they chatted while they went down

”what was their deal?”

”I don’t know I can’t remember anything after we drank those drinks”

”weird.  _hey arsene do you know what happened_ ”

” **nope I was passed out like you so I don’t know what happened** ”

” _wait you were?_ ”

” **whatever happens to you I can feel similar effects** ”

” _strange though..wait you can get drunk?”_

_”_ **sort of but it doesn’t go farther than that** _”_

ryuji scratches the back of his head ”at least we did some studying before the midterms”

”yeah let’s see how well we do”

ryuji proudly exclaimed ”yep I think I learned quite a lot”

ren laughed ”you learn a lot when you’re being threatened”

”shut up!”

meanwhile back in haru’s suite the silence had broken once the two boys had left so they could talk about the events that had unfolded hours pryer 

shiho was the one to speak breaking the silence “so are we gonna talk about that or?...?”

haru immediately responded in a serious manner without switching her mood “no that was possibly the worst thing to happen”

”agreed”

ann had a different opinion as her hands were fidgeting on what had happened and what ren felt about her

” _a cord deep within him_ ” ann giggled which warranted looks from the other 2 who didn’t share the same excitement more of envy as she was the only one who enjoyed the ordeal

“seems someone enjoyed that” shiho’s mood dampened as it seemed that ann enjoyed their suffering

”well it seems that I have a good shot in asking out ren” ann said without skipping a beat or embarrassingly hesitating in the middle of the sentence 

haru came out of her depressed mood into a more excited one as if she forgot about what just happened to her not like she cared if she didn’t remember “really how?”

“he said I had struck a cord deep within him does that mean he likes me?”

shiho sighed as she crossed her arms thinking about it ”most likely but it seems you weren’t put through that hell like the both of us” she stared at ann envious and annoyed that she escaped ren’s charms

“Well it still was very embarrassing having slam his hand next to my head and say that embarrassing stuff to me” ann stuffed her face into her knees as she thought about and didn’t want to show the other two her intense blush

”well I guess we should go before the last trains leave” shiho gathers her stuff and ann does the same

once they gather their stuff they head towards the elevator and say goodbye to haru as they exit

**_Futaba’s room_ **

The orange haired hacker was eating popcorn and was crying as she was watching the entire scene from her computer

”why can’t they date already” she stuffed her mouth with popcorn and kept crying as it was like watching a romance anime 

“it was just getting good too if only they had kissed”

Her door knocked as sojiro on the other side 

“Futaba I have some food for you”

futaba got up from her chair and took the food that sojiro prepared for her

”well back to hacking into government bases”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I’m gonna put off ren’s real confession to ann for later I might leave it for during or after madarame’s I’m not sure but I’ll think of it soon


	20. The artist

Last day of exams

ryuji slumps over as both ann and shiho we’re struggling to stay awake 

“man it’s the last day of exams already”

”I don’t think I’ve slept at all” shiho’s said as she was massaging her head

ann is frantically looking around the station

”what’s up with you?” Ryuji yawns

”I think I’m being stalked”

they look at her shocked and simultaneously say 

“stalked?”

”Yea it’s been happening since the first day of exams”

”creepy”

“Anyways let’s just go” to I don’t want to see if he’s here

they go up the escalators leading out to the open

ann looks back to see the person is still following her and tries to get the help from the other 3

”can you guys at least try to help me”

ryuji sighs “fine, follow me”

they all go up the escalator and reach the surface

they stood outside of the subway entrance as they devised a plan to attack the stalker

“ok here’s the plan ann you stand over there by yourself and we’ll jump in as he tries to walk up to you”

ren nods his head “good plan”

shiho sighed as she had her arms crossed the whole time “for a guy who most likely failed his midterms that’s pretty smart of you”

”don’t underestimate me!”

”wait! what about me I just have to stand there and wait for him?”

”yep”

”I can’t go with that”

”you have to unless you want him to stalk you more”

ann grits her teeth “fine but you owe me for this”

”I already owe you 500 yen and I would consider this a favor”

”whatever”

ann walks away from the group as they were huddled outside of the tunnel entrance as ann stood a few feet away all alone 

“will this really work”

”I don’t know”

as they looked at the entrance a tall slim blue haired boy exited the subway and was walking towards ann

”ok now!” ryuji signals the other two to walk besides him

ann turns around to see the blue haired boy along with ryuji, ren and shiho in front and next him all intimidating looking as if they were about to assault the poor boy and leave with much more than bruises and scraps

the boy stands there confused and unfazed by them

they eye down the guy as his uniform was different then theirs and he didn’t seem like a threat from how slim he was

ryuji looked to ann confused “are you sure this is him?”

shiho sighed “I think she’s just insecure”

”shiho!”

the boy looked confused as to what’s happening “what do you want from me?”

ann pointed at him “that’s my line! you were stalking me!”

”stalking you? that’s because you’re the woman I’ve been searching for all this time now please won’t you-“

”wait are you confessing I’m not ready for th-“

”-be the model for my next art piece”

”wait you’re not confessing to me?”

”heavens no you’re not my type of women at all”

shiho eyes him closely “I don’t know this might be one of the shady businesses I hear about in the news”

”will you please agree with me I’m sure I will make this piece a hit”

ryuji steps in front of the boy “wait before we start accepting requests who even are you”

”oh I apologize for not introducing myself I am Yusuke Kitagawa a second year at Kosei high’s fine-arts division”

”wait Kosei that’s that fancy private school a little farther that shujin” shiho turns to ann “this could be a good break for you”

”shiho! that isn’t helping!”

“I am a pupil of the of my teacher madarame”

”wait madarame you mean the one that was on that morning show ann this is serious you should take it” shiho gasped that someone as prestigious as madarame even if they were a pupil would want ann to help him

ren remembered that name from nakanohara’s shadow “ _madarame_ ”

” **seems he’s a perfect next target for our group** ”

“famous artist?” ryuji didn’t know anything about art or most things so he was basically left out of the conversation 

a small black car pulls up next to them an one of the back windows go down showing an old man in a with his white hair held back and he was wearing a greenish goldish kimono

”yusuke there you are” he looks to ann “so this is why you wanted to get out of the car”

”sorry sensei I’ll be right there”

yusuke walks up to ann “madarame-sensei’s exhibition will be held tomorrow near the station and I’ll be there helping so please come by. It would be great if you’d give me your answer about being a model”

he pulls out some tickets and gives them to ann he then walks away and goes into the small black car with madarame 

ryuji chuckled “what a weirdo as if we are going to some art exhibit right guys?”

ren looks at car as it drives away “I think we should go”

ryuji looks at him as if he was insane “really??”

”if he’s the one nakanohara told us to watch out for we could be helping other people and maybe Kitagawa-san if he’s also in trouble”

”agreed” shiho checks her phone “holy crap we’re gonna be late let’s go”

they all run to rush for school as they didn’t want to be late for the last day of exams

Afterschool

the entire group met up at the rooftops relieved that their exams were over

ann stretched her arms “exams are finally over”

Morgana pops out of haru’s bag “I bet ryuji did horrible”

”hey shut up!”

”anyways before you two start bickering what are we going to do with those tickets”

”tickets?” Haru said curiously 

“oh yeah we met some guy who was ‘stalking ann’ and he was associated with madarame and he wanted to have ann come in as a model”

”I see”

morgana looked at ann like he was about to lose hope “ann don’t tell me you love him?”

”of course not!”

”oh thank goodness”

”anyways if the rumors are true we could have a big target on our hands”

”an art exhibit huh I think I’ll pass” ryuji said thinking about looking at some paintings of random stuff sounded boring to him

”well you can’t object you’re coming with us whether you like it or not”

”but don’t we have 4 tickets and there’s five of us?”

haru giggled “don’t worry my father knows madarame personally so he can get me a ticket into the museum for free”

ryuji groaned “aughhh fine”

ren pats his back “there, there we’ll go kick some shadow butt after”

”hell yeah”

“but I guess we can go tomorrow that should be good with all of us right?”

they all nodded their head even ryuji even if it seemed like it was forced

”well then our plan goes into action tomorrow and who knows ann you might be able to get famous after this deal” shiho chuckled

”whatever shiho”

the day after

The entire group had met up in Shibuya and walked over to where madarame’s exhibit was located

theu all enter in after showing their tickets and looked at the place that was filled wall to wall with painting with different styles and different emotions being poured out of them

ann looked at the place amazed “so this is madarame’s exhibit”

shiho also looked at the place in amazement “I’m starting to have doubts about him”

yusuke sees them and walks up to them “ahh takamaki-san I’m so glad you came” he then looks to the group “and there’s more of you”

haru waved at yusuke “I’m Haru Okumura”

”well then welcome to the exhibit and here takamaki-san if you’ll please come with me and the rest you can go look around and experience my sensei’s work”

yusuke leads ann off leaving the group to go do some of their own sightseeing

morgana pops out of haru’s bag “how datebook he take her with her their in love and I can’t accept that”

”mona-chan please stay in the bag”

”sorry” morgana then slips his head back into haru’s bag

”so then let us explore”

they all look through the exhibit at the numerous paintings most of them with cheery atmospheres 

ren stops at a painting of a forest as although it was a very calm and beautiful painting ren felt there was more that was there

shiho sees ren stop and she walk up to him “something wrong”

”this painting...it shows a beautiful scenery but there’s some kind of underlying frustration as if the person was worn out and tired of painting”

shiho looks at the painting ”that’s very perceptive if you but yea i can see that the strokes of paint seem off”

“Maybe the rumors are true who knows how many pupils he’s had”

shiho looks over “hey the other two found madarame talking to some reporters” shiho points to haru and ryuji looking at madarame talking to some reporters

they walk up to the two and also listen in to madarame’s conversation 

“madarame you've said that even being as famous and rich as yourself you don’t use it to live in some outstanding mansion”

madarame chuckles “I believe my old little shack brings out all the beauty and inspiration I need to bring out as much as I can for my paintings”

”amazing you have so many styles it’s hard to believe you made all of these paintings”

”ahh yes but I’ve learned many styles and it keeps my creativity fresh when I use different styles to draw”

before the interview could go further an entire crowd storms madarame with questions pushing the four out of the exhibit

outside the exhibit their all catching their breaths and morgana has his head and arms out trying to regain his breath after almost being crushed to death 

haru stretches her back “he seems very humble for someone as famous as him”

ren stands back up after being able to breath again “too humble I’ve seen this all to many times for me to slip on”

“you’re very precise”

”you have to be in this kind of work”

”I see”

ryuji pulls out his phone “hey I have to show you guys a post I found a while back”

they all look at his phone of a message about madarame and how he plagiarizes art and uses his pupil to make artwork for him and how he’s responsible for over 50 of his students either quitting or worse and out of all of them only one remains

”that is way too coincidental to be fake” 

“right there is too many pieces crossing together and that nakanohara guy saying to deal with madarame for him and change his heart”

morgana jumps to ren’s shoulder to get a closer look “then we should start our investigations soon once lady ann leaves the exhibit”

”how long will you think that’d take” ryuji said groaning just thinking of art and some dumb paintings

“not long” ann says as she steps out of the exhibit looking at the group outside

”so how’d it go?”

”not bad he gave me his number and the address to his shack”

morgana looked to ann worried that she hasn’t been stolen “what did you guys do? don’t tell me he stole your heart”

”of course he didn’t we only talked about the modeling and his art so it’s fine”

”wait address?” ren said curiously

”yeah what about it”

”let’s go to his shack it could be the key to his palace”

”oh right then let’s go”

they all run back to the station leaving ryuji behind groaning 

“we’re going again???”

he runs at catches up to the group

Madarame’s shack

they all walk down to see a big building that’s rusted and has several pieces of cardboard and wood taped onto the building 

shiho looked at the building discouragingly “are you sure this is the place”

”it’s the address that he sent me so it should be right”

ryuji snickered “careful before we end blowing the house down”

morgana looked at ryuji “ryuji don’t talk one of the walls might collapse”

they all laughed at their comments towards the shack that is apparently housing the famous artist 

“anyways should we go talk to them” ryuji was ready to walk up to the door as he waited for the others approval

”we don’t need to we already have the who and where all we need is the what”

shiho started to think “so it has to be something related to art what about museum?”

NOW ENTERING

the world around start to change as they enter the metaverse as the old rickety shack then turns into a golden museum with statues and towering walls with the top of the building looked as if it was made of solid gold

haru looks at the museum “I would’ve never guessed someone like madarame would have something to hide”

”he has to have more than just art if what nakanohara said was true than he might be responsible for more than plagiarism”

shiho looked at the museum confused about how to enter “but how do we go about it the front entrance is covered with people”

ren walked away from the group and jumped onto a car and then a delivery truck to get onto the giant wall “we can’t always rely on the obvious way in now let’s go and check out what’s inside”

ren ran ahead leaving the group

”tch he always seems to find a way around, show off” ryuji hops on the car and over the wall “you’re not kicking shadow ass without me”

the rest follow suit following ren’s path of entry as they walk on the wall over to a roof of the place with an open skylight

”so the skylight’s open, after you joker”

they place down a rope and jump inside

As soon as they step in they see paintings of several people

morgana looks at the plagues “hey these have full names on them”

”they could be the pupils we heard about” ren scans the portraits until he finds a one of nakanohara

ryuji looks at it “this is definitely the guy that was telling us to take out madarame”

ann sees another painting but this time it was yusuke “hey look at this one”

morgana scans the portrait “this is definitely him it seems all of these paintings are of the numerous pupils he’s had before but let’s keep investigating further in case they’re anything else he’s hiding”

they continue forward until they see a giant gold spiral statue with people in it as it goes up

rem walks over and reads the description “a body of work by the great director madarame himself used by his own funds. These individuals must devote their lives to their director otherwise they have no worth in this world”

haru looks at the statue sadly “how saddening to think he’s using his pupils for his own self gain”

shiho grits her teeth “what an asshole”

morgana walks up the the statue eyeing it down “seems he using his students to make himself better and if you don’t do what he says he disposes you without a second though”

ryuji scratches his head “but how has he manages to stay afloat”

”don’t know but let’s confirm with yusuke about it he seems to now a bunch about it unless he’s hiding the truth for some reason”

”but the doors open so let’s keep exploring and we haven’t seen a single guards except outside so I think we’re good”

they go further into the museum which wasn’t too far as they got stuck an some giant door

“What’s with this door is there no way we can get in?”

morgana walks to it and feels the door “seems the it has something to do with madarame’s cognition we’ll just have to investigate his house”

ryuji sighed “for real? there weren’t any enemies here either so this was just a total bogus trip”

they all leave the metaverse and reappear back in front of madarame’s shack

ren turns to ann “I’m sorry do this is out of the blue but you should take that modeling request”

morgana looks at ren shocked and angrily “WHAT!?”

”yeah I think I should seeing as we’re getting information from him”

morgana looks at ann shocked and desperate to her immediate approval “HUH?! You can’t be serious lady ann”

”it’s the only source if info we have so I might as well I mean it’s not like I’m gonna strip down naked or anything” ann laughed it off 

**inside madarame’s shack**

“NO NO NO I will not being painted nude for the world to see. never in a million years” ann stormed out of the house angry that yusuke didn’t even consider her feelings to the matter

”wait takamaki-san please!” yusuke sighs as he steps back to his stool and picks up paint brushes he had dropped

the rest of the group sat there not knowing what to do in the situation as they faked smiled or just kept a deadpan look as the situation went down

they originally came in and yusuke welcomed them into madarame’s home even though he was a bit annoyed that everyone else came in as well as they discussed about the modeling gig it escalated to the point to where yusuke offered to paint the greatest picture ever as long as ann bared everything to yusuke to get the full effect while trying to paint his greatest masterpiece

haru turned to the others “should we go help ann”

shiho hadn’t change s her deadpan look as she responded to haru “if it’s about convincing her I don’t know if we should”

ren stood up but was still a little shocked at yusuke’s proposal “Kitagawa-san we’ll be right back we’ll see if we can convince ann to consider the offer”

”thank you”

they all leave and pick up morgana who was scouting out the place to see if there was anything suspicious about it and see ann stomping her foot outside 

“THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL I AM DOING THAT”

”but it’s the only choice we have for you to do so you might as well go full nude

morgana who was in haru’s bag had his head out stuttering on the line “n-n-n-n-ude? that damn yusuke is trying to hit on you but at the same tile I want to see that”

”well I’m not gonna stand for it”

”aww come on ann it’s not that bad”

”ryuji! how would you like it if you were painted nude”

”but I’m not being painted nude?”

”arghh that’s not the point!!” ann stomped her foot “why do we have to go through with this”

”I mean you’re right do we need to do this?” haru said wanted to help her dear friend from being forced to do something unspeakable 

morgana popped out of the bag and leaned on haru’s shoulder “because that door we saw earlier there seems to be a replica of it here with a huge lock and it might be the reason we can’t go in”

”what does that mean?”

”his cognition says that the door is locked because he sees it locked so we have to unlock it so that we can get pass it”

”then why can’t ren just go around it”

ren scratches his head “because they’re things even I can’t do”

”so here’s the plan ann goes and distracts yusuke while I sneak in and pick the lock for us”

ann groaned as now there was a reason for her to go nude “why is this even happening?”

”because madarame’s is exploiting young artists for his own gain and yusuke seems to be another young artist in his grasp”

they all chime in “yeah”

”so then we have to help him before madarame tosses him out”

“listen we have to stop madarame and save kitagawa-san but you are not forcing any one of us to go nude here”

haru also agreed on the anti ryuji banter “agreed she must save that for her real love”

ann blushed while shiho snickered “nice”

ryuji sighs “fine then what don’t you do it shiho?”

shiho looked at him like he was insane as it seemed he didn’t even listen to what shiho said “no way!”

”haru?”

”no!”

”then how are we suppose to do this”

ann pointed at ryuji “you’re going instead of me got it”

”what!?!?” ryuji looked at her in disbelief 

the other two girls nodded

”why me?”

”because you’re forcing us to do it and it seems you don’t understand what it means to go fully nude” ann smirked

”huh?!?”

”well sucks to suck ryuji” ren chuckled 

“oh no you don’t” shiho grabbed ren’s shoulder which made him stop laughing “you’re going in as well as payback”

”payback for what?”

shiho was too embarrassed to say but her grip around ren’s shoulder tightened after ren said that

haru giggled but her eyes showed an evil intention behind her cheery personality “now then boys go in before we have to force you to ourselves”

”fine” both ryuji and ren went back into the shack as yusuke forgot to lock up the door as he was still trying to pick up some brushes that he had dropped 

they pop into the door as yusuke is sitting at his stool thinking of what he should draw if he doesn’t have a centerpiece model

”what do you want?”

”listen ann says she not going to do the whole portrait”

yusuke looks down distressed 

“but if it helps we can do it instead”

yusuke looks up and starts imagining the ryuji into his portrait

”hmm you’re body structure is decent at best”

”hey!!”

”but it will do however” he looks to ren “your look is perfect for this and not only that I have two subjects” he starts to pace around grabbing pint and brushes “yes, yes of course this will be perfect!”

”you good?”

yusuke turns around “when can you be able to do it”

”tomorrow or the day after is cool”

“Then tomorrow if you may!”

” _just how desperate is he?_ ”

” **seems that madarame man has him on a tighter leash** ”

” _if he is then we have to help_ ”

arsene chuckles “ **pretty admirable of you** ”

”...”

yusuke pulls out his phone “let’s exchange info so we can keep in touch”

they exchange info and both ren and ryuji leave the shack saddened that they accepted the request as they slump over to the other three

shiho snickered “so did he accept”

ryuji sighs “yeah...”

shiho and morgana start breaking down laughing 

morgana looks at the two while giggling “very admirable of you two to accept such a request”

”ah shuddup you’re still coming in with us”

“of course I have to unlock the lock while you guys get nude in front of another guy hehe” morgana chuckled 

“guess me and ryuji will have to go nude” ren sighed “this sucks”

ann starts to turn red thinking about ren going fully naked “yeah you’d go fully naked huh “ ann started to drool “ _i only saw his chest but I wonder how far those muscles can go hehe_ ” shiho started to shake her as her mind was starting to go somewhere else

”earth to ann wake uppp”

”oh huh? oh right the plan”

morgana started to grow a scowl and pierce through ren even if he wasn’t noticing him “ _ren you will not be taking lady ann from me because I am the better man_ ”

“well then I guess it time for us to go” haru picks up morgana and is about to stuff her into her bag

”actually haru I want to go with ren for today”

”why is that?”

”we need to discuss about the plan...yeah”

” **seems he just made that up on the spot** ”

” _what’s his game plan for today?_ ”

they all separate and go their own ways as their mission for today was over

ren made it back to Leblanc and enters in to see sojiro standing around as he was about ready to clean up the place

before ren could go up to the attic sojiro stops him

”hey kid”

meme turns around to see sojiro throw a key at him and he catches it and looks at the key

”it’s the key to the place consider it a thanks for always keeping the place tidy when you can”

”your welcome”

”just remember to lock the place up if you leave or else”

”gotcha” ren puts the key in his pocket and walks upstairs

sojiro laughs “I guess I shouldn’t have underestimated the kid like that” Amherst sighs “where’d that criminal is thought I’d taken in go”

while in the attic ren places his bag down to lets morgana out

morgana jumps onto the bed to get on a good level with ren

”so then morgana what did you want to talk about”

“what I want to talk about is for to stay away from lady ann”

” _...again?_ ”

” **he’s a very persistent and dedicated fighter** ”

”I’ve seen how lady ann reacts to you and I will not stand for it she is mine”

”does she know about this?”

morgana steps a back a little “w-well no but I will make her mine soon enough before you take her”

ren raised an eyebrow as although morgana had a crush on ann and everyone knew it but they chose to ignore it as to not start a fight with him but ren could fully piece apart morgana

”what if we start dating”

morgana gasps “you wouldn’t”

”I mean if what you’re saying is right then that means I have a good chance”

”grrrr then I challenge you to a showdown”

”like a fight?”

”no a race to see how many shadows we can take out”

”in what?”

”madarame’s palace once we open that door we’re going straight for a race for ann’s heart”

”sounds nice”

morgana extends his paw “so do we have a deal?”

ren sighs and shakes morgana’s paw “fine”

”no let’s go to sleep before we waste more time”


	21. Infiltration

Afterschool  
**_  
Outside of madarame’s shack_ **

The entire group is huddled up outside of madarame’s shack discussing their plans on how they’re are going to take out that door in the palace

morgana stands on the railing as to finalize the plan with everyone ”ok so here’s the plan me and our beautiful models right here”

“SHUT UP STUPID CAT!”

ryuji takes immediate offense as not only was being a nude model was bad being a nude model with your best friend doing it with you is easily the most embarrassing punishment one could get and it will probably stay with him forever

morgana snickers “anyways the girls shall go into the palace and make sure they can secure a route into the door so that we aren’t stuck for the rest of the way”

the 3 girls nod in agreement to the plan 

haru speaks up as she was still confused about a certain part of the plan “but if ren isn’t coming with us who is going to be temporary leader”

ren looks to haru without a second thought “you can be leader as I think you’re the most level headed one out of the 3 of you guys”

“what’s that supposed to mean ren?” shiho looked at ren angry that he doesn’t trust her as much as haru

ren sighs as he massages his brow “you, ann and ryuji have made so many mistakes so it’s pretty obvious why I’m having haru be temp leader”

”ok and we’ve only made a couple of mistakes”

”do I have to reference the time you and ann thought a shadow was ‘cute’ and we saw you guys knocked out from the shadow”

”well that was one time”

”you have shot me many times over the course of our metaverse trips”

”that was..two”

”and the fact you guys keep startling them as I’m about to go and take off their mask”

”I see what you mean...I guess” shiho looked away angry that ren was right

”so then if that’s all the questions we have it’s time for our plan to go”

ren, ryuji and morgana go up to the door but before they knock they see the 3 girls disappear into the metaverse 

“guess we have to go in”

ren rings the doorbell and after a bit of waiting yusuke answered the door

”I see you came!” yusuke seemed to be in a rush

”anything to help out a person in need i guess”

”I appreciate the thought well hurry sensei will be back soon” 

ryuji sighed as yusuke and ren entered the shack “I can’t believe we’re doing this”

while ren and ryuji were having troubles with their modeling the three girls were having issue with their new security trouble in the palace

* * *

the 3 of them huddled them to a wall as they slowly made their way through

”crap! why is there security now?”

haru peeks her head out to see the shadows and laser they’ll have to make through in order to make it to the big door “maybe madarame found out about us”

”maybe but how are we suppose to attack them?”

ann looked over to the sea of lasers and security “we do what ren does don’t we? you know take off their mask and stuff”

shiho looked towards ann”yeah but how hard is it I mean ren does it with ease and even adds a backflip in there from time to time but we’re not him”

haru left the comforts of the wall while the other two were wondering how they should go about it and she jumps and rips off the mask of the security guard

”seems she has it down well and nice”

both shiho and ann run up and assist haru in taking out the shadow but not with the same ease as having a team of 6

the battle ends with the group already tuckered our from fighting

shiho pants as it took a little more effort to take out a shadow “jeez this is way harder without as much type coverage”

”agreed so we have to minimize the amount of shadows we come across” haru was a pretty good temp leader as her emotions didn’t overtake her as much as the others were

”you’re pretty made for being a second leader huh noir”

haru giggled “why thank you I wanted too just in case ren was a little more troubled with leading or if he was sick and couldn’t go into mementos with us”

”anyways let’s continue to go further”

* * *

back in the real world with morgana who had slipped away to go work on the lock while ren and ryuji were keeping yusuke occupied as to not notice the cat lockpicking the heavily guarded door

yusuke sat at his stool as he instructed the both of them to undress 

after they started to undress as yusuke eyed down their bodies while they were slowly taking off their clothes to stall for time

”hmm indeed you both have the forms in order to make this work although” he points to the scar on ren’s chest “what’s with that big scar on you chest?”

ren had a bunch of small scars on his body but the biggest one was on his chest

”oh it was an accident back in my hometown”

”your hometown..?” yusuke started to wonder but he shook his head “well that doesn’t be matter I have to submit this painting to sensei or else”

”or else what”

”he might..wait never mind that”

” **you got him** ”

”I’m guessing you heard about those rumors about your sensei”

”what rumors?”

ryuji showed him the message he found on phan-site ”the ones about how he abuses his pupils and takes their artwork for his own gain”

yusuke nervously laughs “preposterous my sensei would never do that after all he was the only one to take me in after my parents died”

”then what about the other pupils?”

”that’s-“

”what about the one that killed himself im sure you know of it”

”enough!” yusuke stands up “sensei is a good man I know it”

ren also stands up “listen we can show what he really is if you wanted to”

”no! they’re all baseless lies that are far from the truth”

”don’t you want to leave though?”

that line struck yusuke deeper as it was one said by another pupil “yes..but”

”he’s keeping you as a prisoner one wrong move and he’ll kick you out and make sure you never paint again”

ryuji stood there dumbfounded by how ren was interrogating yusuke and how he got his hands on this information

”how do you-“

before they can speak further about the topic they hear a big slam followed by morgana cheering “I GOT IT”

”hmm what was that”

they all leave the room but not after ren and ryuji rush to put their clothes on 

they go around the corner to see yusuke look at the room which was open and the lock for the door lay on the floor

”how...how is it open?”

”yusuke? what are you doing?”

madarame entered the shack and he saw the three stand in front of the door that kept one of his most biggest secrets

he rushed over to the group while they simply stood there

”yusuke get away from there”

before yusuke could react ren shoves both yusuke and ryuji into the dark room and he follows into the darkness

they all go around the room cautiously as they try to find the light switch

ryuji finds the switch and he hit it to reveal the room filled to the brim with the same painting over and over again

yusuke gasps “the Sayuri but why?”

”Sayuri?”

”it’s the most famous painting by sensei and it’s the reason why I strive to be a better painter”

madarame enters the room and fake sighs “it was only a matter of time before you found this out but I’m in severe debt and I’ve been selling replicas to another buyer as the original was stolen so I tried to recreate the ‘Sayuri’ from scratch”

”sensei I never knew-”

”hold it” ren stops yusuke before he starts forgiving him “that story is fishy on its own but that still doesn’t explain everything else”

”what part of it is fishy?”

”like how you said you tried to recreate it but if it was stolen than how did you make replicas”

”i saw it in an art book and I-“

”wouldn’t a buyer of a painting have a keen eye for that sort of stuff”

”like you would understand that!”

”hey dude” ryuji walked over to the another painting that had a tarp over it “this one seems different” he pulls down the tarp to reveal the real ‘Sayuri’ 

“the real Sayuri? but why is it here” yusuke couldn’t handle all of these emotions coming into him

”because madarame is really just a fraud who uses his pupils and hides the fact that the painting was stolen” ren dropped the huge bomb onto yusuke about what his ‘sensei’ was hiding 

the two guys looked at madarame with a scowl as all of what they have done exposing madarame to what he’s truly done was to get through yusuke

madarame couldn’t respond to his claims as they were all right so instead of exposing who he is to his last pupil he pulls out his phone 

“I’m calling my private security to arrest all of you for trespassing”

”oh shit! ren what do we do?”

”it’s time to go” ren grabbed ryuji by his wrist and they run off

”wait!” yusuke runs after them outside while madarame tries to call his security 

“why isn’t this working?”

the reason it wasn’t working was because of a certain orange haired hacker tampering with his phone so that his calls wouldn’t go through

* * *

_**meanwhile** _

back in madarame’s palace the three finally made it to the big door as they await for the boys to get the door open

ann stretched her arms as they didn’t make It unscathed and had some problems before they could make it 

“jeez why are there guards now”

”maybe madarame got suspicious and security increased in here because of it” shiho drinks some water to heal herself 

”most likely but I guess we have some time before it should open now so what should we talk about”

Shiho grins “so then I have a plan on how to get you and ren together”

”say what?” ann stood back because shiho probably had some messed up idea for her

haru claps and smiles “oh joy you can now be together once and for all”

“wait what do you mean plan?”

”I’m gonna set you guys up for a date”

”but I don’t think I’m ready for that!” ann has never been on a date before, let alone have a boyfriend so the only experience she had was with tv and movies

”of course you are, you won’t know until your try”

”but what if there’s some other love interest for ren and it becomes a love triangle”

shiho looked at ann with a blank face that she can’t differ between real and tv “ann that doesn’t happen in real life”

”it could you never know!!”

”ann” she puts a hand on her shoulder “your overthinking it that doesn’t happen in real life”

“but I don’t know if I can do it”

”but you’ve had many conversations alone what’s the difference with that”

”I-I..nghhh” ann couldn’t think of a good reason for not tying to ask ren out

”just ask him out”

”but I don’t want to make the first move because that might seem awkward” ann didn’t know how to go about it

”what’s awkward is you drooling over whatever you were daydreaming about yesterday” shiho knew about what ann was gushing over when they discussed their plans

ann blushed intensely “n-no I wasn’t”

”oh ann you’re so adorable when you do that”

”I am not right haru?” shiho looked to haru for clarification

”noir” and haru has to correct shiho for their miscommunication

”noir, sorry”

haru giggled “I would be lying if I said you weren’t adorable when you do that”

ann visibly was frustrated at all of this as she was being teased by more than just shiho this time and it annoyed her to no end

before ann could be teased further the door opened

haru immediately reacts “looks like the boys did it”

”of course we did” morgana appears behind them as he left as soon as he opened the lock

”umm mona-chan where’s the other two”

”I don’t know I thought they’d leave as soon as we got the door open”

”well worry about that later let’s keep that door open”

they go in and enter the control room and turn off the door’s defenses so trey can go in and out freely

* * *

once they finished that they walked back to where they were waiting as the two hadn’t shown up yet

”are you sure they escaped it’s been awhile now”

”well it seems they may not have escaped, we have to go back and get them”

morgana started to walk forward when a red portal opens above him and some screaming could be heard above morgana

”YOU IDIOT” ren creamed at ryuji

”MY BAD I PANICKED!” 

”WHATS HAPPENING?!?”yusuke was confused

before morgana could react ren, ryuji and yusuke land on the poor cat who was crushed under their body weight

”owww ryuji don’t turn on the metanav like that”

”I’m sorry but I got anxious that he called the cops on us so I had to do it”

they all sit up and yusuke looks at his surroundings “what is this place”

“this is what madarame’s heart looks like”

yusuke started to laugh “impossible this can’t be wait who are you guys”

”oh its me amamiya and that’s sakamoto and the rest are our friends who came with us” he points to them all individually “and there’s morgana but I don’t know where he is”

”umm joker you’re sitting on him”

”oh” ren looks down to see morgana knocked out from their combined weight falling on him and he gets off of him

”can’t...breath...” morgana tried to speak as he was being crushed and his words could barely be made out as ren gets off of him

”wait a cat? I thought that was just a a stuffed animal in your pocket”

”nope this is our navigator through these palaces”

”I see but what’s with that outfit of yours”

“oh these are our inner us”

”still my gratitude for him taking me in for 10 years won’t go away”

”seems you still want to forgive him follow us and we’ll show you what madarame has really done”

they start walking through the museum and yusuke looks at all the paintings of past pupils that he has seen before 

“is this really what’s in sensei’s heart”

ryuji puts his hand on his shoulder “he looks at you guys like objects that’s why they’re here”

”I see”

they continue to move forward

”we’re almost there the exit is just around the corner-“

a bunch of guards appear in front of them blocking their path out of the museum 

they hear some maniacal laughing as a madarame walks over to them in a golden kimono instead of his shabby green one

”welcome to the museum of yours truly the great fantastic artist madarame!”

yusuke walks forward a little bit to get a closer look “sensei? what is with that outfit this isn’t like you”

Shadow Madarame laughs “that old attire is just an act so it could seem that I’m just old and humble i really live in some mansion a bit farther away with a mistress’s name on it”

”wait then what about the ‘Sayuri’? what about it being stolen”

”that was all an act for me to get more famous after the all the real painting will never go public and art snobs just eat it up even if it is a fake” he laughs some more

”no...”

”art’s worth is merely subjective at best so it’s very easy to make it a good business practice not like a stupid child like yourself would understand such a brilliant plan like mine”

ryuji mocks madarame “money this money that it makes sense why a piece of trash like yourself has this vile museum”

ann also gives her take on the situation “aren’t artists suppose to be all dignified and stuff doesn’t plagiarizing make you feel like you’re worthless!?”

“art is just a tool I use for money and fame”

haru also stepped in as madarame was acting shameful for his image “that’s not how artists are suppose to work they should be dignified for their work not happy that they get some cash out of it”

”and to think you’d understand ms okumura how would your father feel if he heard this”

”that’s not-“

”enough of this you lowly dirtbag” ren gritted his teeth as yusuke stood there suffering at there realizing that his inspiration really was just a fraud after all 

“but sensei what about your followers those who believe in you..”

”if you want to succeed in this art world I wouldn’t go against me as if anyone would stay afloat with my objection in their art holding them down” madarame laughs and smugly smiles and points at yusuke “after all I took you in because you were broken and damaged those are the easiest people to take in because they can’t fight back!”

”I cannot comprehend any of this”

”but I am running out of time so it’s time you guys leave” madarame starts to walk off

”you are unforgivable”

madarame turns around “hm?”

”I shall not forgive you for what you have done!”

”i see for all of my 10 years of feeding you and keeping you in and this is how you pay me back what an ungrateful brat” madarame turns back and starts to walk off “men dispose of these intruders”

the guards start to enclose the thieves as they’re were a lot of them and would most likely result in them being badly hurt

”get back it’s about to get serious” ren falls out yusuke to come back and stay safe

”seems the truth is simply more crazy than fiction” yusuke starts to laugh

”hey are you good?”

”I had let myself believe the rumors weren’t true my were blind unable to see the horrible man under that fake facade that you’d kept for all this time!”

**i see you’ve finally came to your senses**

yusuke starts to hold his head in pain

**how foolish of you to run away from the truth**

**it's time for you to part from that deplorable imitation of yourself!**

yusuke screams as the pain was unbearable and he falls over

**now our contract shall form I am thou, thou art i**

**the world is both a beautiful one and a vile one**

**it’s time to teach people which is which**

”very well”

a fox mask appears on yusuke’s face and yusuke rips it off “goemon!”

madarame steps back as he wasn’t prepared for this

a giant intimidating Japanese outlaw appears behind yusuke

yusuke smirks “what a sight although allusions they make for a great spectacle for one to gaze upon”

”though evil will blossom abominations are destined to perish”

the guards around the group fade away

while everyone is shocked ren is mainly impressed “ _seems he also has one as well_ ”

” **yes he’ll be a fine one for the team** ”

madarame regains his composure and steps forward challenging yusuke “who do you think you are!? you’re just some insolent brat who deserves nothing but death!” madarame summons a bunch of guards “kill them now!”

”the children who’s lives you trampled on how many lives have you destroyed for your own self gain!? it doesn’t matter what it takes you shall be brought under justice!”

The guards start to advance and attack the group but yusuke uses an ice spell to take out a bunch of them

ren smirks as he wasn’t weak either and he makes his way through the rest of the guards

once the guards are over and done with yusuke walks over to madarame 

“yusuke you will pay for throwing your bright future down the drain you’ll never become an artist when I destroy your career like every other brat that defied me and you will rue the day for it”

madarame walks off but yusuke falls over trying to chase after him “I can’t move!?”

“because you awakened and have been totally drained so you can’t even if you wanted to”

”what a disgrace I am”

ren chuckles “disgrace? what you did there was you first step into truly blossoming into a new”

yusuke looks up to him “what do you mean”

”you’ve finally come to your sense about everything you’ve stopped hiding from the truth and your now embracing it. that proves that you aren’t some disgraceful figure it now means that you turned a new leaf into finally taking him down for what he really is and not some fake imitation”

”you’re right even though I owe him because he raised me after my mother died it’s now time for him to pay for what he’s done the ‘Sayuri’ and it’s legacy”

”now then what do you want to do?”

”I’m not sure”

”we can’t help that fact that he’s changed for the worse but we can have him pay for what he’s done”

”is it that changing heart things I've heard about? wait are you guys those vigilantes I’ve heard about back in Kyoto and at that school”

”well have right and half wrong”

a bunch of guards show up behind them

”we’ll talk more later!”

 they escape the museum and meet up a bit further away from madarame’s shack as to not get arrested if madarame’s security label showed up

they all took turns explaining what the metaverse was and how the phantom thieves worked to yusuke

“so to think the phantom thieves were real”

ryuji rubs the back of his head “hard to believe?”

”no I can understand it after all that world I saw is real so it’s not that hard to believe”

”glad you could understand it” ren smiled at yusuke for easily being understanding of his situation 

“so I see your going after madarame now so then I wish to join you”

they all looked at him shocked

haru was the first to respond to him “are you sure kitagawa-kun?”

”of course if I had faced reality this entire ordeal would’ve been avoided so I must put an end to him before other artists are robbed of their future”

shiho smiled at him “that’s the admirable way to go about it I guess you’ll fit in just fine”

”this is the only way to go about it unless I wish to be silenced even further”

ren chuckled “seems you’ll do just fine welcome aboard yusuke”

”i hope you all will coach me about all of this”

ryuji laughs “with moves like that you’ll catch up in no time”

”also madarame said that he will pursue legal action against you two if he catches you”

”that’s a shocker” morgana pops out of haru’s bag 

“this cat, it’s talking”

”and?”

”nothing?”

”want to draw me as well?”

”hmm that does sound like it would turn out to be good”

morgana nervously laughed “I was joking”

“oh I didn’t know”

after they laughed about it ren starts to walk off “well I’ll see you guys tomorrow I’m all done I for today”

after they say their goodbyes to ren they see ren disappears into the hill

yusuke was pondering ”he seems very distant yet caring”

they all went on about how ren is very considerate and caring towards them 

”yeah he kinda goes his own path he hasn’t really talked about his path besides his arrest and why he’s in Tokyo”

”he’s cares for us though in making sure we don’t always end up hurt or injured after a battle”

”he can be a little selfless for his own good though when he jumps in to take care of something for someone else”

”he’s still very considerate about all of us”

”I see you all care for him dearly he’s a good man but he is very mysterious himself”

“maybe he’s homesick or something” although ryuji was best friends with him he really couldn’t figure out who ren really was on the inside

”maybe but it seems he is hiding something deep”

”what do you mean yusuke?” shiho was very curious to what yusuke saw in ren

”I can tell from his eyes he’s grieved the loss of many but it could be my imagination”

”you could be right”

* * *

Kyoto 2 years ago

ren is by himself at a graveyard placing down flowers on some gravestones

”I’m sorry I couldn’t save you”

he walks away to where a brown haired boy is standing

”what do you want?”

”we have a mission to do there’s no point in groveling on the dead”

”it’s your fault in the first place!”

”yet it’s your fault they ended up that way trying to play hero for the weak”

he starts to walk off 

“where are you going!?”

”to where our mission is, now come on we don’t have all day”

ren’s first tightened as he let him just scoff at the dead bit he couldn’t do anything about it and all he could do was follow


	22. More than good

Morning

Ren is walking to school alone all tired as he didn’t sleep properly as he was being scolded by a certain hacker who was displeased on how he went about that situation 

ren yawns 

“ **that girl really did take a couple jabs at you** ”

” _a couple would be an understatement she really went in on me for almost getting arrested and for not thinking about how we would escape his house_ ”

arsene laughs “ **I guess that what you get for not thinking through** ”

” _of course it is_ ”

ren walks into the school to see the grades for the midterms up and his friends standing in front of it

ren walks up to his friends as they stood there looking pale 

“hey guys so how’d you do?”

”f-fine” shiho responded not taking her eyes off the boards

the others simply nodded without giving a response to the question

“but what’s with you guys looking pale like that?”

”traitor...” ryuji said without skipping a beat and straight to the point

”what do you mean?”

“look who’s at the top” ann said while bleakly pointing at the top names

ren starts to look through the grades and all the way at the top of his grade he sees his name

”oh cool I got the top spot”

”oh cool? OH COOL?!” ryuji said as he turned around and started to aggressively shake ren by his shirt collar “you said you were good but you got the top spot?!”

”very impressive but that doesn’t excuse the fact that you get the top spot?!” shiho was also very pissed off about this as she was usually the one in the top 25 yet ren seems to bump her out of top 25 by taking the number one spot

“didn’t I say that I got the top score last year?”

”that doesn’t excuse you!”

”of course it doesn’t”

”man I thought we were bros yet you left me hanging like that I didn’t even get that good of a grade yet you leave me in the dust?!” 

“can you guys really be this loud in the morning” they all look over to see makoto walk towards them

”oh! mako-chan!” haru gladly greeted makoto as they were very acquainted with one another 

“hey haru”

”so you came to greet us haven’t you miss president?” ann said in a mean spirited tone

”no I came here to congratulate amamiya-san for getting the top score in his class and that’s it” makoto turned around and start to walk off “well I have more important duties to attend to so goodbye”

she walked off as ryuji was still shaking ren and shiho was still envious that ren would just take the top spot like that and kick her out of the top 25

afterschool

everyone had met up in Shibuya as yusuke couldn’t just enter their school if it wasn’t a special occasion so they met up in Shibuya instead to discuss their plans

”so yusuke are you accustomed to our explanations on the palaces?”

”I believe so but what causes palaces”

ryuji responded in the same up beat tone as always “if someone has a strong distorted desire that’s usually what happens and it can happen to everyone”

”everyone?”

”yep unless your a persona user and it apparently negates the effect or something I don’t know that’s just how it works”

ann sighs “when you say it like that it doesn’t sound right at all”

”whatever”

”now then let’s go before we waste anymore time bickering about this” shiho walked off first to the station as they rode to madarame’s shack

NOW ENTERING

they all entered the palace but this time they now had 7 persona users instead of 6 

“so then what will the new rookie’s code name be?” morgana said while eyeing down his outfit 

“that mask screams kitsune and that outfit compliments it as well” ann said while looking proud at her idea

”yeah I can see that” shiho said while also eyeing down his outfit

”I mean he does have that tail so how about abura-age”

morgana and shiho hold their laughter in

”very well”

shiho looks at him shocked “wait are you sure?”

”if that’s what you wish to call me then so be it”

ren sighs “let’s just stay simple from now on, your name is fox”

”staying literal ok that’ll work” morgana said while poking at yusuke’s tail

”very well then let us move forward”

they begin to move forward through the palace getting closer and closer to the treasure room 

they first go through a big room filled with shadows and they deactivate some lasers in order to move on to a room of paintings

”woah this is some crazy room we have here” ryuji said while he looked at all the paintings

”indeed but there is some strong shadows down there so we have to be careful” yusuke said as he looked down at the few guards that were pacing back and forth but had a very strong aura on them

“what should we do joker?” haru said as she turned to face ren who disappeared “joker?”

”wait where’d he go?” shiho said unaware that ren had jumped down and is currently fighting the shadows down below

they were unaware of his whereabouts until a loud bang could be heard from down below and some shadows screaming

they all look down to see some blue lights flash to ren’s mask and some more shadows disappearing

ren looks up and waves to you guys “oh my bad I kind of got antsy”

”you think? how’d you even take down that many?” shiho said worried that ren was injured for running and gunning a bunch of strong personas 

”I mean if this persona doesn’t take physical damage they can’t hurt me so...”

”lucky I want to be invincible to physical attacks” ryuji leans on the railing yelling at ren for having such an op persona

”wait does joker have more than one persona?”

”he apparently unlocked the ability to have more than one persona and he can use two at a time” morgana said while his tail sadly sloshed around as he was showing off to ann who looked to be impressed by ren

”fascinating, well we have to meet him down there so let’s go”

they all make their way down to ren as he’s collecting some loot and they make their way towards the treasure room

they go through a pure gold room which gave everyone a headache trying to get past

shiho waddles along while holding her head “this place is so bright it’s hurting my head”

haru worried over shiho’s state of mind “raven are you ok? do you need some water or and ice pack?”

”water will do thanks noir”

”no problem” haru smiled as she liked helping her friends out

”say is that madarame?” morgana points to where madarame is standing and the small wisp next to him

they all huddle up to the nearest wall and scout the room ahead of them

”it’s littered with guards and madarame just standing in front of the treasure with a bunch of lasers too” morgana said as he looked at the treasure sit there merely guarded by some lasers

”how are we suppose to go about it?” ann said while looking for a way around

“but look up there’s no ceiling”

”you’re right so there must be room nearby that leads up”

they make their way around so a nearby unguarded control room with one working monitor

”so what is this place?”

ryuji said as he and the other were inspecting the dusty control room

ren went up to the computer and looked as there was only 3 commands you could do

”hey guys check this out”

they all go up to ren as he’s messing with the computer

ren presses a command and the lights turn off alerting madarame but the lights quickly go back up

madarame panics and sends a guard to investigate the room

”seems the other commands don’t do anything but we might be able to do something with the lights going and what do you think morgana?”

”it seems so but you said there could be another room so let’s investigate that one”

they leave the room and take out another shadow who came to investigate 

they reach up to a room above the treasure and look around

”so it seems there’s a hook controlled by this lever so then we could use this to our advantage” morgana said as he looked over at the lever

”yeah but you’re the only one who could stay on the hook so there’s that”

”it seems so. alright so we’ve secured a route to the treasure but now we need a plan to get the treasure” morgana said while trying to formulate a plan

”ok how about this. there’s most likely going to be a shadow guarding the control room so we’ll have skull guide him out of the room so ann can slip in and turn of the lights when we give the signal raven and noir will take out the shadow along with skull once he leads it out of the room once you all do that regroup up here”

”what about me and mona?”

”you’ll tie mona to that hook and secure the treasure I’ll be the on controlling the lever to pull mona in and out”

”hmm alright”

”wait! why do I have to be the distraction?” ryuji said a little skeptical on why he was bait

”so that you’ll lead it to where raven’s and noir’s position do they can take out the shadow and then you’ll regroup with us”

”alright fine”

”well then if we all agree to the plan we can leave now and set up the calling card”

they leave the metaverse and go their separate ways besides ren and yusuke who end up talking afterwards

”so how does this calling card work again”

”we send it out and it makes the palace owner’s treasure become physical”

”but how does that work?”

”mona told me it’s that their minds now believe their under threat or something”

”very intriguing well I’ll work on it tomorrow so I’ll see you later” ryuji said as he thought he was the one to make it again

”oh no you don’t we’re having the actual artist do it this time because I don’t want to have that weird logo you put plastered on the news”

”there was nothing wrong with that one though!”

”there were many things wrong with it”

”fine” ryuji mumbled under his breath about how he tried his hardest

”well I’ll see you guys soon” 

they all left leaving ren and yusuke alone

“it seems this metaverse thing has gotten me all tired all of a sudden”

”yeah that’ll happen”

”your so very accustomed to it”

”I did go into it for more that 2 years”

”have you ever thought about it though?”

”thought about what?”

”how you somehow acquired this strange power”

”I do but it still doesn’t make sense no matter how hard I try to think about it”

**the future is in trouble and you’re the only one who can save the world**

” _save the world? I don’t even know what my mission is yet I have to save the world_ ”

”I see but there must be reason maybe something we don’t know about”

”most likely but I guess my objective right now is to stop the guy causing all of these mental shut down cases”

”I see there’s another persona user wandering around”

”yeah and he’s pretty deadly so it isn’t going to be easy”

”I wonder why he does what he does or is it justness pure blood lust”

ren pauses before answering which yusuke noticed and noted down ”who knows but that’s a discussion for another day so I’ll be going now”

”see you”

ren waves off as yusuke walks back to madarame’s shack

ren walks off alone down to the station and heads to Shibuya to kill some time for a couple of minutes while he walks around looking around the place he gets a message from ann

[hey do you want to grab something I’m in Shibuya modeling if you wanna stop by]

“ **you should do it** ”

”hm?”

” **it would be great if you got hitched it could calm you down from always going into the metaverse** ”

” _I guess you’re right..wait hitched?_ ” ren looked at his persona shocked by his idea 

“ **of course maybe you’ll calm down from always going in and you could calm down in other ways if you know what I mean** ” 

“ _huh?!_ ” ren was getting a little flustered but by what arsene insinuated and he wasn’t ready for it

” **have fun!** ” arsene flies off to wherever mainly away so that he could spy on ren from afar

” _wait arsene...aughh bastard how dare he just leave me like that_ ”

ren could imagine the persona right now just giggling somewhere above him as he left ren on his own

“ _but I might as well see her I have nothing else to do_ ”

ren grumbled as he knows that arsene really just wants him to experience having a girlfriend as he never truly had one

ren sent ann a message saying he’ll be there soon

ren could feel arsene laughing at him as he accepted ann’s request to hang out

meanwhile ann was in Shibuya taking a break at a small table inside a cafe before her shoot as she anxiously awaited his message right after she sent hers

she held her head as she did this because shiho would always tease her about it saying things like “you better ask ren out before another girl asks ren out” and “if ren himself said that you hit him deeply than that’s just another way of saying he’s go out with you”

it really bugged ann that she could say things to her and make her break but that was really the only way ann could make some moves on ren 

“ _what if he doesn’t respond does that mean he doesn’t like oh I’m not good with this_ ”

ann then gets a message and she immediately looks at her phone to see ren’s message

[sure sounds cool I’m on my way]

ann slumped over now that ren accepted but she was also worried that she might not be able to handle it

”my hands are shaking too much I need to calm down love can’t be this hard right?”

ann nervously laughed “ _what am I saying!! this is my first one_ ”

she was right as this was ann’s first real love she didn’t know how to properly handle this besides holding her head and try to calm herself down

” _breath in...breath out...breath in..._ ” ann was trying to calm herself down before ren showed up

“ _breath out...breath in...breath_ ”

”ann?” ren said as he saw her trying to do some weird techniques which he thought was to calm her down for her shoot as he thought she was just nervous and she looked a little cute while doing it and it made ren laugh

” _OUT!!_ ” ann was completely off guard for his arrival and it didn’t help her anxiety “h-hey ren”

“hey so I see your dressed up nicely” ren looked at ann’s outfit which was more extravagant then when he last saw her

”o-oh thanks I really only model because of the cute clothes and because my family brought me into it”

”cool but isn’t your shoot about to start?”

”oh yeah here let’s go”

the walk over to where a few photographers, assistants and another model were standing around

”well wish me luck!” ann said as she smiled while walking down to where the organizer was standing

” _she really is busy_ ”

after the shoot is over ann walks back to ren 

“so how was it?”

”you seem pretty busy if you model most of the time”

”yeah I guess you’re right”

the other model walked over to greet ann

”oh ann-senpai that was marvelous of you!”

”aw thanks”

she looks over to ren “oh is he your boyfriend?

ann blushed at the thought “o-oh no h-he isn’t he’s a friend..yeah just a friend”

”I see well I’m mika I remember you from the show you did a year ago”

”oh you do?”

”yeah you were so gorgeous I wonder what is your exercise regime”

”oh well I have been doing some light jogs and some more exercises as of late”

this wasn’t a lie as ann didn’t want to be a burden to ren so she was exercising more to at least be able to somewhat match his skill

”oh how nice but with a figure that slim you have to have some kind of diet right?”

”oh well not really I kinda eat what I want to”

“you do huh” mika was getting a little frustrated “well you have to if you want to keep doing shoots I mean you are doing shoots right?”

”well yeah but modeling is really just a hobby for me”

”what...” mika was over ann’s take on modeling and she felt it as an insult that she had to try so hard to stay in shape yet she just ate whatever she wanted to “i see so then why are you here then?”

“because I like modeling?”

”yet you don’t take it serious enough ya models take pride in our work always trying to stay in shape yet you’re over here mocking us and I cannot except that”

”huh? what is that supposed to mean?”

”you need to take this serious unless you want to fade away ann-chan and yet here you are making fun of us”

”what?! I’m not making fun of anyone?”

”then why are you here and i thought you were dignified yet you’re just ugly”

”what did you say?!” ann started to get mad and she fell right into her trap

”oh ann-chan how cruel I didn’t mean to make you mad so please don’t hit me!” mika was putting a fake display as to cause ann to get in trouble

the cameraman looked over to them “ann please don’t attack mika like that”

mika then fake cried as she faced the cameraman “she so mean and I’m just trying to make some good conversation with her”

ren felt bad as he stood there not being able to say anything as he was just an outsider and mika could make some bs excuse and they would just accept it 

“anyways the shoot is over so you can go home”

”hmph” mika was a little ticked off that the cameraman didn’t do anything to her and just waved them off 

“come on ren let’s go” ann dragged ren out of the shoot as ann was a little angry that she just had that happen to her

they left and stopped when they weren’t in sight of any of them

”nrghh! I can’t believe I let her do that to me” ann was very frustrated that she just let that happen and she couldn’t do anything against it

”here you want to grab some coffee?”

”oh but I’m short on money and I don’t want to burden you”

”no it’s ok I can make some for you”

”wait you can?”

“yeah so let’s go get some before we have to get ready for tomorrow” 

they went to the station and arrived at yongen-jaya to where they walked the streets until they reached Leblanc as it was tucked away from general view

they enter in and ann looks at the small shop as it had a cozy and mature feel to it

the cafe had no customers in it so sojiro was standing behind the bar as always

”welcome what would you like-“ sojiro looked over to the door to see ren and ann which surprised him as not only did he bring a friend over it was a girl so it gave him and idea of what was going on

”here I’m gonna put down my bag and get ready so just sit around”

”alright”

ren went upstairs to get in his barista uniform so it was sojiro and ann sitting around

“so then little miss are you the kid’s girlfriend?”

”o-oh not yet..”

”yet?”

ann was getting more and more flustered and she really couldn’t help it as her emotions were sputtering everywhere as of recent

sojiro laughed at the poor girls efforts to not spill her emotions out “I see so it guessing if your this acquainted to the boy you know about his probation”

ann switched her mood as she thought about his probation “yeah, its very tragic”

”it’s hard to believe this kid could do something like that but the system can be rotten like that”

”wait I haven’t asked yet but are you his caretaker?”

”yep i also took him in because I’m pretty acquainted to his father so he asked me about it as a favor”

”I see”

”but he’s been good so far and I’m guessing he’s here to make you some coffee?”

”yep!”

sojiro chuckled “well I guess Ill leave you two to it, also make sure he locks up the door”

”I will!”

after sojiro leaves the shop ren steps downstairs in his barista uniform

ann looked to his uniform as he looked like a professional and look very handsome in it as well

”so I’m guessing you’re ready for your cup of coffee?”

”y-yeah” 

ann sat at one of the barstools as she watched ren makes her some coffee step by step

after a bit ren poured her a small cup of coffee

”your order ma’am” ren gave her a smile which made ann blush and smile back as she started to take a sip

aftwr she took a sip she puts down the cup “this is pretty good I never knew you were such a good coffee maker”

”yeah he’s taught me how to make coffee as long as I help around the place”

”but that’s so lucky of you to live in a cafe”

”the attic is still pretty dusty even after I tried to clean it”

”I mean you do live in an attic so it’s expected”

ren laughs “I guess you’re right”

ann finishes drinking her cup of coffee “this was really nice” she looks at ren “thank you for this o really needed it”

”any time”

”anyways it’s getting late so see you see you”

ann leaves the shop and ren cleans up and locks up the place

arsene pops up behind him a little disappointed from ren’s display 

“ **tsk tsk ren that was the best chance for you to ask her out** ”

ren sighs but accepts his situation “I want to save it after madarame right now is too hectic”

” **well I can let that slide but does that mean that you accept your feelings** ”

”I guess I do but let’s go to sleep before anything else”

 “ **oooh ren my boy is in love oh now this is sweet!** ” arsene was pretty excited at the fact that ren finally had his first love for the first time at least as long as he has known ren 

”whatever let’s get to bed I don’t want to be all tired tomorrow morning”


	23. The painting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> quick note I’m having some of the palace owners have an second phase as to spice things up because why go through the same boss fight? Not as fun as writing an extra phase into it

The night before the heist

_**Leblanc attic** _

ren was in bed as he had sent yusuke the details on how the card should be written as he was tasked with writing it while ryuji and yusuke drew the logo for their team

[Y: so we send a calling card to madarame and he will change, right?] yusuke said as he was still unfamiliar with the whole metaverse concept

[R: yep he will be changed man and he can never  revert back]

[Y: that is fine as long as he pays for what he has done]

[S: so then yusuke did you work on the calling card because we couldn’t let ryuji do it again] 

[Ry: hey! I did my best!]

[S: yeah you did but now we have an artist to do it for us]

[Ry: well I’m still helping so hah!”

[S: but he’s the one doing the details for it]

[H: anyways so how should we send the calling card?]

[R: at the exhibit that should be the best place]

[Y: but there are cameras how would one of us do it without being spotted]

[H: mona said he could do it]

[R: perfect now let’s just hope he takes the bait]

[S: let’s just go to sleep before we end up not doing our best for tomorrow]

ren shut off his phone and went to sleep as to prepare himself for their upcoming day

Sunday 

**_madarame’s exhibit_ **

yusuke is out helping madarame with his exhibit when a staff member comes up and approaches madarame

”sir there’s something we must notify you about”

madarame looks over at him “pardon me” he steps away form the crowd “what is it?”

”we found this” he gives him the calling card”

”a card?...” he looks at the card

the staff member begins to read the card to him “sir Ichiryusai Madarame a great sinner of vanity whose talent has been exhausted. You are an artist who uses his authority to shamelessly steal the ideas of his pupils. We have decided to make you confess all your crimes with your own mouth. We will take your distorted desires without fail. From the pantheon thieves”

madarame takes the paper and rips it up and looks at the staff member “and the culprit?”

”there was no one in them it just appeared along with a cat”

”remove them now!”

”yes sir!” he walks away from madarame while madarame takes out his phone

madarame calls a number and talks to someone of the phone

”it seems I’m the one being targeted now and I need your assistance”

[seems so]

”well can you help me?”

[im afraid not as this is necessary to bring him down once and for all]

madarame gets frustrated by his answer and he starts to get louder ”you’re telling me I’m just some bait!”

[sorry but I have more important things to attend to]

he hangs up leaving madarame visibly frustrated and rotated at the person

”so I’m just gonna be tossed aside like that after all I’ve done, **fine then I won’t back down** ”

yusuke who was watching the whole time walks away from madarame’s to his friends were standing by not in his line of sight

”so how was it?”

ann gleefully congratulates yusuke “perfect the design and everything about it was perfect”

”so then the treasure should appear right?”

”yep guess it time to make our move”

”he was also speaking to someone and he was very frustrated that he was being used as ‘bait’”

”it’s probably nothing now let’s go that old man is going down” ryuji said as he smacked his his into his palm

“it should be fine there are 7 of us so it should go smoothly”

NOW ENTERING

”they went up to the control room up top to discuss their final plan for this operation

”ok just so we know we can’t mess up on a single part of the plan” morgana said as he looked at everyone to make sure they were ready for their plan

”well guess it’s time to be bait” ryuji said a little disheartened that he has to be bait

they all get into position as ryuji led the shadow to where haru’s and shiho were located while ann slipped in

ann sighed “hope they can do it”

while ryuji is running from the shadow he slips into the another room near the entrance of the treasure room where both haru and shiho we located at 

as ryuji went into the room with the shadow chasing him both haru and shiho hit him from behind crashing their weapons into his back and causing him to disappear 

ryuji looked at the two while panting “nice job you two”

haru playfully swung her axe “it was a well staged performance”

shiho stepped back a little as to not get hit “I think lost of that impact was you noir and that giant axe of yours”

haru giggled “it’s fun hitting shadows and watching them disappear”

ryuji shivered a season he didn’t want to piss her off with that kind of strength

back up top where the crane’s controls were located yusuke had tied morgana to the hook 

“ok, fox that should be good” morgana said as he happily swung his paws

”you should eek to be enjoying this”

”of course I do just think of the treasure down below us”

”well then we’ll be counting on you”

yusuke waved his hand around to signal to ann that they were ready 

ann who saw the signal turned off the lights to give enough time for mona to grab the treasure

rej immediately responded to the lights shutting off by releasing the crane downwards as morgana flew down and grabbed the treasure 

the rest of the group went up and regrouped with joker

”sorry to keep you waiting!”

”that shadow was easy peasy”

they went up to greet mona who had went back up after ren set the crane to go back up

”so hows that for the master plan”

”good job mona now let’s go”

they grabbed mona and the treasure

they hear from down below madarame telling the guards to close off any door so that they couldn’t escape

”crap how are we suppose to escape?!” ryuji said slightly panicking

”over there” ren said as he ren towards the open window

they all jumped out of the window and started their descent down the museum

they took a portal which had led them into the courtyard

”I see so it led us here”

”mrrroww” morgana started to furiously purr

”is he ok?”

”I can’t take it this facade lets just look at the treasure right now!” morgana flipped the painting off his back and started to unravel the piece “treasure!!”

they looked down to notice the cute little cat face that was drawn on the canvas

”this is the treasure”

madarame appears behind them laughing “poor vermin is this what you looked for?” he looks to the painting with a gold exterior 

“a mousetrap huh?”

”counterfeits work well in the art world”

yusuke starts to get frustrated at madarame’s demeanor “why are you like this?, how could you do this crimes and not see how it would’ve effected someone who you took in and looked up to?!”

”that’s because I knew your mother who talents never faded ever after her husband died..and her beautiful paintings are now under the name of the the great madarame!”

”h-how dare you!”

”you really are scum huh” ren was also getting equally as angry toward madarame as yusuke was

”here before you die I’ll grant you a wish so see the real ‘Sayuri’ in all of its beauty”

the gaurd shows them to Sayuri as they now realized the meaning behind the famed painting as it was a self portrait of herself with the baby in her arms being yusuke 

“how tragic it was the painting she drew for the some she would eventually leave behind it was such a great painting that I had to give it a retouch”

”so you erased the baby?”

”as to give it a more alluring feel to it in how the woman’s expression was never revealed to the world”

”so you simply replicated the painting for profit?!” yusuke was starting to yell “you didn’t treasure it at all!”

“all in the name of fortune”

”you’re nothing without that painting otherwise you’d be just as cheap and worthless as this counterfeit” ren was started to really get mad even though this wasn’t that personal to him

”seems you’ll simply defy me no matter what time for you to die along your friends yusuke”

”now then let’s go!”

“seems you insolent children still don’t understand” madarame’s aura started to become thicker “how dare you barge into my museum and think you know everything. it’s a eat or be eaten world those who have those connections to better themselves and those who don’t and rot away. I am the supreme being the king and god of the art world the great madarame!!”

madarame laughed and started to form into four separate paintings a nose, a mouth and two eyes

”crap what is this form?”

” **I sense certain barriers in it be careful ren** ”

” _got it_ ”

ren looked over to ann and shiho who looked at the painting confused on what to do

”raven and panther shoot at it”

there both looked at ren and nodded and shot some speeds at the painting

the mouth was the only one to take real damage 

ren took notice and quickly dispatched orders

”noir, skull, fox hit them with you physical attacks

”right!” they all used physical attacks with their personas which also gave them some recoil drawbacks

again the mouth healed while the rest took damage

”everyone it seems that most only takes ranged attacks while the the rest take physical damage” ren had already figured madarame’s weakness which angered him

”BRAT ILL KILL YOU ALL!”

the nose started to twitch which signifies to ren that something was about to happen

”quick everyone attack the nose”

they all hit the nose with physical attacks which don’t do much to it

the nose then sneezes which blasts all of them and throws them back very damaged

”shit what kind of attack was that” ryuji was trying to keep himself composed after getting hit by an attack like that 

“quick take this” ren throws some medicine at everyone of them and they pop it and drink it 

“joker we have to watch out for that nice attack”

”here I’ll go attack him up close skull back me with a spell”

”huh ok got you!” 

ren feels his attacks getting stronger as ryuji has buffed him

ren runs up and is about to attack the nose when the mouth goes and tries to bite him

ren dodges the attack but is left wide open for the right eye to go and hit him

a bullet strays right past ren’s head and hits the eye who about to attack him 

ren looks back to see shiho who is sniping him from afar

”I’m not that bad of a shot”

ren uses this opening to go straight for the nose

“Ippom-Datara!”

the hammer wielding persona with an iron mask although not the strongest persona he had but when partnered

”Matador!”

partnered with another persona and having his attack doubled really made a difference

”swift strike!!”

they both attack the nose doing heavy amounts of damage to the nose along with humongous recoil damage to himself

the nose painting fell down and ren jumped back to wheee his friends were as he was panting as the combined attack hit him hard and he still wasn’t recovered from the sneeze so he was on one knee

ann rushes over to him and started to heal him “joker are you ok?”

”perfectly fine as long as we take out one of those paintings”

ann looked at him as he was already tired out and they weren’t even 10 minutes into the fight which made her worried for his well being

“noir take out one of those eyes, raven back her up in case the other eye does something, skull,fox and mona shoot some spells at that mouth”

”on it!” they all agreed to ren’s order as he might’ve had a plan in mind 

haru ran up to the left eye as she readied her axe to clobber onto the eye

shiho aimed her rifle as she waited for the right eye to move

both ryuji and yusuke had their spells ready to attack as soon as haru got near the eye

after ann finished healing ren he stood up and joined in their joint attack against the mouth

haru jumped up and was ready to strike on the eye while shiho shot a gullet to the right eye

as soon as she jumped the 4 guys shot their strongest spells at the mouth 

ren didn’t use two personas to shoot the mouth as that might’ve made his tired too soon as he really only used his dual personas once before this and that was against kamoshida so he just stuck with arsene’s strongest cursed attack

the mouth staggered greatly by the joint attack while haru slammed her axe onto the poor eye 

the entire painting staggered back leaving only the right eye to stand which was quickly dispatched as everyone shot their bullets into it and it fell within a couple of seconds

after the eye fell all the paintings on the ground turned into black paint and then back into Shadow Madarame 

everyone jumped over to him and painted their guns at him

”seems you’re trapped now madarame”

”as if you’ll be able to stop me!”

they all attacked him as he was wide opened and free to be attacked by all of them

after the attack is over madarame is left there on the ground 

“have you learned your lesson”

madarame starts to get off the ground “as if any of you brats could stop me”

he then does some sort of move and the world around them starts to change as if they were in a painting and it turned into some flowery scenery while madarame seemed to disappear 

they all huddled together back to back as they didn’t know what was about to happens or where they were now

”show yourself madarme”

”coward!”

“come here so we can beat your ass”

“aw is someone scared to get axed?”

they all drove insults to madarame to draw him out

“ **ren above** ”

ren looks up to see giant ship start to fall from above them

”QUICK EVERYONE!”

they all narrowly escape the falling ship as it smashes to pieces after they dodge

”what is this”

”seems he’s put us into some kind of world where he can paint whatever he wants to” mona said as he cautiously walked around the unfamiliar ground

they all hear the ground shaking as they turn to see over 100 samurai soldiers charging at them

”what is that??” shiho said as she was pretty intimidated by the massive army

“it seems he’s painted an army but we can handle them right joker?” mona said as he looked to ren for him to agree  

ren was troubled as he wasn’t expecting this to happen but he still had the same confident look as always

“ _hey arsene you think we can take them out?_ ”

” **child’s play** ”

” _then let’s him them!_ ”

”maeigaon!”

ren launched a heavy cursed attack to the entire army

the of the soldiers fall while the rest continue on their onslaught

”joker allow me” haru pulled out her grenade launcher and shot at the soldiers blowing them up and taking out most of them leaving only under 20

ren panting “guys..take..them out”

”right!”

the rest of the team went and attacked the last of the 100 man army

”impressive of you phantom thieves” the voice was heard by ren a song he looked behind

madarame had reappeared with a shogun outfit on and a sword in his hand

he charged at ren who just barely reacted in time to block the attack with his dagger

”sukukaja”

ren agility increased as he was nearly too slow to block madarame’s attack if he was just a little slower he would’ve lost his head

both of them were in a stand still with their blades as the rest went and still were attacking the last of the army

”should’ve just left there’s no point in trying to take someone like me down” madarame said as he was starting to put more force into his blade and it was overpowering ren

”what’s the point in helping people if I’m just gonna let one obstacle take me down!” ren pulled out his pistol and shot madarame 

madarame jumped back and disintegrated into the floor

the rest of the group rushed to ren 

“joker are you ok?” shiho said worried for ren as he was breathing heavily

”fine as long as we can take down madarame”

the air started to get more thick and darker and they faced to see a giant conglomerate form with many arms like a kraken 

“you’ll never take me down you petty thieves!”

”seems his form changed”

”let’s go”

they all charged at the monster and swung their weapons at it only for them to do barely any damage

madarame laughed at the group’s poor effort as he swung his arms hitting everyone

”crap that really hurt” ann said as she held her head

”mediarama!” ren used another costly skill as the team healed while ren was growing more exhausted

the monster then used a cursed spell that had hit everyone blowing them back even further

”bastard!” ryuji thoughtlessly charged at the monster

”skull you idiot” mona came in with him only for the both of them to be slapped by one of his arms

ryuji was tossed back to the group while mona flew so far he tore through the painting world that they were in

”mona!” haru cried out as she was worried for her poor feline friend haru pulled out her launcher and started to shoot at the monster

the rest all took out their guns and shot at the monster with barely any effect

the monster was shooting curse spells at the group and ren was constantly healing all of them which was draining his _sp_  quickly

”how long of this can we take” ryuji said as he was getting annoyed that all of his attacks had no effect

”he doesn’t seem to go down” shiho said as her spear was shaking due to her fatigue

ren stood up and used a spell lowering his defenses and attack while increasing his own speed

”skull!”

”right!” ryuji increases his attack as he was about to do something 

ren charged at him and the same two personas that he used to take out the nose painting popped out

he dodged several of madarame’s attacks and drove an attack straight at its head

”swift strike!”

the monster flinched as the attack was great and strong to weaken it

madarame immediatly recovered and ren had to time to react by sending out Shiki-Ouji to not be hit by his attack as madarame hit him with one of his arm which made him fly all the way back to the group

ren laid on the ground as the recoil and that attack did massive amounts of damage to him

ryuji and ann walked over to him

”joker what were you trying to do?”

”I was trying to take his attack by switching out” blood starting to flow out of ren’s mouth from the hit as ann healed him

”here let’s do it together”

ren smirked “right”

after ann healed ren and ren took some medicine he stood up

”noir, fox, skull on me!”

they all stood next to ren as ryuji increased all of their attack power

fox increased all of their speeds

after that they all rushed the monster dodging its attack and drove their physical skills onto the monster 

the monster flinched as it screamed in pain while the four of them jumped back 

“bratty kids take this!”

the monster launched an arm and was about to drive it into the group until

”hiiyaaahhh!!”

mona came out of nowhere with a black paint can and dropped it onto the arm

the arm shriveled up and retracted as madarame screamed in pain

”w-what is this”

”if this really is a painting world he put us through and if I were to drive some black paint in it”

”the painting would be ruined” ryuji finished morgana’s sentence as he was really hyped that this could be the end of madarame 

“exactly, now quick everyone take some paint and drip it onto him” mona gave the four of them a paint can

they all smiled as they rushed the monster 

madarame swung one of his arms at the group but it was shot by ann and shiho’s personas

they all went and smeared the monster in paint severely weakening it and reverting madarame back to his regular form

ren quickly capitalized on the moment that they had ”quick everyone! all out attack!” 

everyone had jumped up and attacked madarame 

madarame fell over as the painting world faded away leaving only madarame trying to crawl away with the painting still in his hand

yusuke walked up to him his fist clenched as his anger towards madarame still boiled within him

yusuke grab madarame by his collar

”p-please don’t kill me!”

”you and this world shall come crashing down along with the crimes you’ve committed”

”yusuke you have to understand being a poor artist is very difficult in this world”

yusuke’s grip on madarame’s collar tightened “you have no right to speak about the art world! after all that you’ve done!”

madarame started to get increasingly terrified as yusuke’s voice was raising

”but before you go and confess tell me what happened to my mother!”

”all right just please let me go”

yusuke dropped madarame and he began to confess

”your mother and I were artists together and I took advantage of the fact that she had a seizure and died in front of me in order for me to claim the ‘Sayuri’ with ease”

”how outrageous” 

“but I see the crimes that o have committed were wrong and sinful so I shall return back and confess everything”

”I see than so be it”

the palace started to tremble as they were running out of time 

morgana turned into a van quickly “cole on guys let’s hurry”

everyone got in the van as yusuke picked up the painting and was about to enter in

madarame still sat there with a look of sadness and displeasure

”hey yusuke..”

yusuke looked down at him “what is it?”

”I’m sorry I changed like this and all the damage I caused you”

”if I’m gonna be honest you were a good foster father until you started to change”

”if only I was as humble as I claim to be”

”yusuke!” ann yelled at yusuke to hurry up

yusuke went to the van as it drove off to escape the crumbling palace

”farewell...” that was madarame’s last words before he dissolved along with the museum and his desires

they all reappeared back in front of madarame’s shack exhausted

THE DESTINATION HAD BEEN DELETED

ren put away his phone as the museum really disappeared “c’mon let’s go before we get noticed”

they all walked with ren as yusuke took one last look at the shack “goodbye..sensei”


	24. Morgana’s challenge

_**Leblanc attic** _

ren immediately dumped himself onto his bed fully worn out by that entire fight as he sunk further into the mattress 

“ **that really was exhilarating** ”

”but you were not the one fighting so you can buzz off”

” **don’t need to be so cold** ”

“sorry but I’m just way to blown out to really focus”

” **well at least have some good dreams** ”

as ren closes his eyes he gets a message and they shoot back open as he picks up his phone to see the little cat icon 

[Al: good job]

”i was about to go to sleep”

[Al: well i wanted to say good job]

“with what?”

[Al: taking out that artist]

”how’d you know?”

[Al: he has cameras all around the place]

“so he does”

[Al: also I still haven’t gotten a thank you]

“for what?”

[Al: i stopped his private company from arresting you?]

[Al: does that ring a bell?]

”sorta but I guess thanks for that”

[Al: you guess?!?!]

[Al: >:(]

”sorry but you..did..well...” ren eyes immediately shut so to over exhaustion as he left the hacker hanging

* * *

_**Sojiro’s house** _

futaba sat there as ren didn’t respond to her 

“that ass he’s really going to leave me hanging unless he’s thinking about something..”

her answer was immediately solved as she could here snoring from her speaker

”he fell asleep..rude”

she sighed as it was also late and she should probably rest up as well

she then took a nap at her desk as sojiro checked in her room to see her napping

he closed the door as he walked to the living room

he gets a call and he picks it up

”who’s this?”

[Am: it’s me kazuma]

”sorry I don’t keep guys phone numbers”

[Am: its still an issue that have my wife’s phone number and not mine]

”it’s a habit of mine, anyways what do you need”

[Am: how’s my son]

”he’s doing well although he does stay out often and then comes back as if he ran around the country”

[Am: seems he working hard, do you know if he has any friends?]

”listen I’ll take care of the kid but I’m not acting like a second dad to him”

[Am: I just want to know as he doesn’t call me as frequently]

”well I’ll at least say he might have a girlfriend”

[Am: thats my boy! is she..] a small voice could be heard screaming at him very surprised by this news

[Am: ren has a girlfriend!!] 

sojiro laughs as he could tell that the voice was his daughter which he had met once or twice a few years back

”I see the little one is as lively as ever”

some muffling can be heard as yuki went and nabbed the phone from her father

[am: UNCLE SOJIRO IS THIS TRUE?!?]

sojiro has put his phone a bit farther away from his face to not he blasted with her loud high pitched voice

“I think so at least most likely”

[Am: HE BETTER UNLESS ILL KICK HIM DOWN]

sojiro laughed “I guess so but I’ll keep you informed”

 the phone could be heard as it was passed back to the poor father as he didn’t know what to do 

[Am: well I guess I better get ready for tomorrow otherwise I won’t be in tip top shape]

sojiro sighed “you were always like this”

[Am: well I’ll talk to you some other time]

the phone hung up as sojiro sighed as he scratches the back of his neck “I hope the kid didn’t get most of his personality from him”

* * *

Morning

ren was at the station waiting for the train when shiho walked to him

”hey ren!”

”seems you’re as jumpy as ever”

”well after all that’s happened I have tried to exercise along with haru”

”nice so hows it going?”

”pretty good but I have a question for you”

”what’s that?”

”do you like ann?”

that question shook ren as he wasn’t expecting it this personal of a question so early so he was completely off guard 

“huh?”

”you heard me” shiho wanted an immediate answer as they didn’t see them dating in the near future but in about the next couple of months from their pace

”do. you. like. ann?”

ren had no other way out of the conversation as the train was nowhere in sight so he decided to mess with shiho a little bit

“fine you win..”

”seems you can be easy to break as ann”

”it’s too early to find an excuse” ren was still exhausted from yesterday

”but you haven’t answered yet so how about it?”

”I like her as a good friend”

shiho saw that he wasn’t as easy to break apart “liar I know you like ann”

”where’s your proof?”

”there!”

”there where?” ren jokingly looked around as he was messing with shiho

shiho glared at ren “stop messing with me dammit!”

ren laughed which didn’t help shiho’s frustration as she was so used to her being the one to poke fun into people mainly ann

“I know you’re lying about it though” she then remembers something ann told her when they were having a late night conversation 

“ _he told me I struck a cord deep within him and I didn’t know how to respond to him it was like my heart was gone_ “

shiho then smiled as she now had proof of ren’s love to ann “I’m pretty sure ann hit a cord ‘deep within you’ or so I was told”

although ren didn’t remember saying this he did feel like feel like he truly did say it “I don’t think I’ve ever said that”

”oh really now” shiho had a smug look on her face as she feel like she might’ve got the one up on ren “it was during our..” shiho then realized that she couldn’t say what had happened during their study session as it was something that she would want to forget forever

”our?”

”our...” shiho realized the wall she was about to hit and how ren might react by completely making fun of her and she didn’t like that one bit

”what are you tying to say?”

”n-nothing, nothing at all”

”hmmm?” ren saw that she was getting more and more flustered and saw it fair to poke her just like how she was trying to poke into ren “what?..our what”

”nothing!” shiho tried her best to stay calm as she could see ren wasn’t trying to push her back

”what is the confident and always steady shiho (most of the time if she isn’t shooting ren) hiding this time?”

”nothing of the sort! now let’s hurry the train will be here”

shiho walked along to the platform as the train arrived and boarded it before ren could mess with her further 

Lunchtime

ren and ryuji sat in the courtyard as they ate some yakisoba bread for their lunch

“it seems you’re starting to be more liked in the school”

”what makes you say that?”

”a rumor is spreading about how you’re not even as dangerous as you sound and how kamoshida made up everything”

”cool at least I can finally rest in peace without being gossiped for merely walking by everyone”

ren sighed as he bit down onto his lunch 

“hey cheer up man it’s like you said you’re just eye candy to them”

”well I at least want to be viewed as someone you can talk to and not feel afraid”

”well it’s school rumors so it’s probably never gonna go away any time soon”

ren groaned “I wish I didn’t get slapped with that fake arrest”

”we’ll we can’t control time of only we could I could change all those times o effed up” 

“yeah maybe then you could actually have a good reputation with people”

”yeah then that dirtbag kamoshida wouldn’t have stopped me”

”at least he can’t do any harm now”

”your right” ryuji drank some juice he got from the vending machine “but I have to thank you man”

”for what?”

”I might’ve dropped out if it wasn’t for you”

”you would?!” this shocked ren as he thought ryuji was the always fighting type

”yeah I think about how weird little group is already I mean look at us we have me some blonde delinquent, the girl surrounded by rumors, the volleyball starter, a billionaire’s daughter and an artistic prodigy this group wouldn’t have stood by itself with out you man”

ren was very touched by this but didn’t feel any happy about it “I don’t think I’m that important”

”what’re you talkin’ about? without you none of this would’ve happened”

ryuji drank the rest of his juice then threw it in the nearby trash can

”well it’s almost time to go to class so i guess I have to be a good student for the time being”

ren still sat there thinking to himself 

“ _I’m not that special.._ ”

afterschool 

ren was walking out of school when sees haru in her gym uniform having trouble putting bags into a cart

ren walks over to haru as helps her put a bag into the cart

”oh ren you don’t need to you know”

”well i saw you struggling so I wanted to help you out”

”I appreciate the help ren” haru said as she smiled at ren

after a couple of minutes they put all of the bags into the cart

”thank you ren it would’ve took me an hour to do this yet you helped me”

”no problem”

”hey ren do you want to do some training?”

”like in the metaverse?”

”Yeah! me and shiho were planning to go but we couldn’t really go without extra help just in case”

”alright I’m down”

”excellent I believe shiho should be in the gymnasium training herself”

”alright you can go and drop the cart off wherever you need to go and I’ll meet up with shiho”

”okay!”

ren steps over to the gymnasium to see shiho practicing with volleyballs in the empty gym

”I see you’re practicing hard”

shiho turns around to see ren walk in

”oh hey ren”

“are you still gonna try to do volleyball?”

“maybe or maybe not I’m not sure, I don’t know if I could get over kamoshida with his coaching”

”you’re right at least he’s gone and all of the members can finally recover”

”yeah but I have an idea for us”

”what’s that?”

“let’s go train in the metaverse it’ll be great for us” shiho said as she three punches in the air like she was imagining that she was pummeling some shadows

”I think we should train our bodies first in the real world”

“actually we should go to the metaverse unless you’re too chicken to fight eh ren”

they looked over to see morgana stick his head out of haru’s bag

”what do you mean fight?”

”I mean our race that we agreed on before we went into madarame’s palace”

”oh we’re still doing that”

he then stuck his front paws out of haru’s bag and started to yell “YOU WILL NOT STEAL LADY ANN FROM ME!!”

ren sighed as shiho snickered 

“guess we are going to the metaverse”

”let’s go before we waste any time” 

they left the school and showed up in mementos as the rest of the group didn’t want to come

they headed into mementos just the three of them so the van wasn’t as packed as usual

shiho stretched her arms as haru and ren were in the front seat so shiho relaxed in the back

”hey! don’t put you feet on my doors” mona yelled at shiho just using mona as her personal foot stool

”but this is a once in the life time opportunity the van is always so full” shiho didn’t want to move as she already found a good position to relax

”but we’re almost there!”

”almost where?”

”joker..step on it”

ren although didn’t want to make shiho mad but thought of it as a good way to get revenge on her for this morning

he smiled with malice 

joker slammed on the pedal and the van zoomed forwards knocking shiho forwards and almost over the seat but she caught herself before she could fly over it

ren was driving straight into a dead end so he hit the brake and drifted before he hit the wall 

shiho flew to the back of the van as he hit the brake

shiho sat back up infuriated and starts pulling on ren’s head while he’s laughing

”YOU ASSHOLE I COULD'VE FLOWN OUT OF HERE!!” shiho was pretty pissed off by how she almost flew out the window and maybe fly through the air for a good 3 or 4 seconds 

ren while still laughing “I had to do it especially after this morning”

haru looked at ren curiously “what happened this morning?”

”oh nothing much just a small conversation between friends”

”hmph!” shiho looked away from ren

 they went back and drove to a locked room and busted it open to show a giant room with two chests and a bunch of shadows gathered around

mona reverts back to his cat form and looks at the 3 “well it took me a while to gather 10 shadows but I somehow managed it”

”wait how?”

”I snuck out and went into mementos by myself”

morgana was pretty proud of himself that he managed to gather this many shadows and escaped unharmed by himself

although ren and shiho were impressed by morgana’s commitment haru was pretty angered and saddened by this

”mona-chan is this why you always want to walk around afterschool”

morgana then realized his mistake in his plan and he was about to repent for it “wait no noir it’s not what you think it is”

”so my afterschool activities are so boring you leaves that right?” 

“no I just did this so I could win ann’s affection”

”oh it’s always about ann, why can’t you care for me mona?” 

“wait no haru that’s not what I meant”

”fine then no sushi privileges for you!”

morgana then felt a bullet pierce through him as his sushi privileges were one of the best things he could ever have

”wait no haru let’s talk ok we can talk about this please!”

”no, not only have you been gaining weight and your ungrateful to all I’ve done for you”

”no I haven’t i swear haru please not the sushi!” morgana was getting more and more desperate as his sushi privileges was one of the only things he loves

”then no more leaving my side without telling me where you’re going or else no more sushi”

”yes ma’am!”

”and I’m cutting back on how much you eat”

”yes ma’am!” 

both ren and shiho looked at morgana obediently agree with haru like she was his mother 

they stood there confused not knowing what to do as morgana turned back to ren

 “now then joker we shall have our challenge now!”

”you haven’t explained what the challenge is”

”hehe funny you should say it’s a race to that chest”

”ok?” ren didn’t see that as much of a challenge as he could just skip through the shadows

”but you have to take out your half of the shadows”

”oh I see” ren still didn’t see an issue with it

“but! you can only use arsene no other persona”

”ok now this is sorta fair”

”wait what about our training?” shiho said as this training session turned into a contest between a cat and a human

”we can do that after and think of this as observational training”

”I guess so but we’re going deeper in mementos after this”

”deal!”

shiho and haru stood by at the sidelines where it was safe while both ren and morgana got ready for their race against their fair share of shadows

haru started the countdown “3...2...1..” both ren and morgana readied themselves ready to take out the shadows in front of them

”go!”

morgana rushes to the first shadow as he readied his cutlass and had his persona out ready to blast a shadow with a wind skill

the first shadow he looked to was immediately blasted with a medium wind skull which alerted two others next to it

he pulled out his sling shot and shot both of them knocking them down

”take this!”

he shot a magarula spell at them taking outback one of them but leaving the other two standing as they charged at him

he jumped in the air and then slashed through one of them and blocked the other's attack as he slid back a little bit

” _unlike you I have trained for this moment and I’m not letting you win_ ” he did sometimes sneak away from haru to train to impress the rest of the group mainly ann but he still trained hard and had some proof to show it as he already took out one shadow and was about to take out two more

”like he can even win he’s only using arsene and he has no other strength besides that I have this in the bag” his narcissism started to flow through as he got more and more confident about this challenge

he then ran up shot the shadow with his slingshot then pulled out his cutlasses and slashed him which made the shadow disappear 

“ _let’s see how ren is doing.._ ” he looks over to ren who’s taking on all five of his shadows with ease as he’s dodging attacks, using their skills against them and throwing them each other while shooting curse skills at them

morgana was very shocked by how proficient he was being but he wouldn’t wager as he wouldn’t lose to ren so he finished of the third shadow and moved on to the last two shadows that were left

” _he can’t he still hasn’t taken out a single one_ ” morgana was distracted by thinking about how well versed he was at taking on multiple shadows and while he was dawdling he got hit by one of the shadows

he jumped back and shot the shadow with a wind skill and then followed it up by slashing him which finished him off easily he then moved to the last shadow and as he was about to hit him he was kicked by it before he could attack which sent him tumbling near the wall dropping his cutlass on the ground in the process

he pulled out his slingshot and shot the shadow which didn’t do that much to the shadow

the shadow charged at him but before he could continue morgana shot a wind skill at him

the shadow was staggered which gave him enough time for morgana to grab hit cutlass

the monster recovered then went to attack morgana again but morgana dodged them went and hit him with his cutlass

the shadow didn’t go down but launched another attack at morgana

the shadow missed its attack and was greeted by morgana’s cutlass as he sliced the shadow up making it disappear 

“finally I took all of them out”

he then eyed the treasure chest which was right there in morgana’s grasp

” _there it is_ ” morgana started to sprint at it “ _I can finally have ann all to myself without anyone else interfering_ ” he happily ran over and touched the chest

“yes! I did it!”

”you did it congrats mona-chan!” haru congratulated morgana for his success in touching the chest

”of course I did because I am amazing and now I can have ann all to myself” morgana was praising to himself but was about to have all of his hopes shattered 

“wait was that the prize” shiho elbowed ren while smugly smiling “joker~ seems like this is your chance at her”

ren sighs “thanks for your input raven”

shiho chuckled “any time”

morgana eyes down the three of them in complete shock and terror and the realization “wait how did you?- when did you- huh?!”

“oh joker finished a little before you”

”and it was incredible you should teach us some of those martial arts techniques you learned” shiho punched the air as if she was imitating his moves

”wait you know martial arts?!” morgana seemed to heavily underestimate ren

”Yeah a few I believe I now know about 3”

”wha-“ morgana was still speechless to how unprepared he really was to this challenge

”then let’s go back and joker could teach us” haru suggested

”that’s a great idea, joker let’s do it”

”well then let’s go back to the surface” they started to walk along leaving morgana standing there “hey mona you coming with?”

morgana’s ears perked down “yeah..”


	25. Makoto’s investigation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small chapter I thought this would be entertaining to add in

Lunchtime

ren was walking around the school as he was sure that he was being followed 

arsene floated around ren “ **are you sure you’re being followed and you’re not just paranoid** ”

” _you know you could help and check for me and be an unhelpful ass hat_ ”

” **fine, fine as you wish my lord** ” arsene said sarcastically as he floated away to look behind him

as he floated away he saw the student council president with a manga in hand as she followed ren at a distance so that he wouldn’t immediately take notice 

“ **seems she’s stalking ren** ” he then smiled as he thought to himself “ **ooh is someone else having feelings for ren? oh this will be good like those mangas that ken sometimes reads in class about some guy with a bunch of girls that like him** ” he chuckled “ **poor dude always stuck trying to date 2d women** ”

* * *

 

somewhere back in Kyoto ken sneezed at this

”hey you alright?” eiko said as she thought ken was becoming sick

”I think someone was making fun of me”

”figured as much”

* * *

as arsene looked at the council president sneaking around he floated back to ren

” _so?_ ”

“ **seems the council president is following you** ”

” _I think she is trying to pry info out of me_ ”

” **why don’t you approach her** ”

” _if I do that she’ll be even more wary of me and it might cause a scene if I did that in the middle of the hallway with other people around_ ” ren could already imagine the other students spreading rumors about the two 

“ **then what are you going to do?** ”

” _well I’ll wait until she stops_ ”

” **good luck with that** ”

after school

ren is in Shibuya walking around as he is still being trailed by makoto

” _does she ever give up?_ ”

” **considering she might’ve been told by that principal to watch out for you I don’t think she will** ”

” _wait what do you mean?_ ”

” **after that assembly I looked around while you were talking to your friends and I saw her and the principal having a nice conversation about you guys mainly about you so I’m guessing she has dirt on the rest of the group as well** ”

” _that’s the student council president for you_ ”

” **yeah but what’s your plan now?** ”

makoto was following ren with her head into her book she was hiding under

as she peeked up she saw ren started to run away

she responded by also trying to run to catch up to him

as she kept running ren kept getting sucked into the crowd to the point to where he was completely enveloped and was gone from her sight

she stopped and tried to look around for him

”where’d he go this time?”

”where’d who go?”

makoto nearly dropped her book as she turned around to see ren smiling as he looked at her eye to eye 

“oh I was looking for..” she tried to think for an excuse “the book store..I was looking for the book store”

ren obviously saw through her lie but decided he wanted to mess with her a little bit “oh really here look I’ll show you” he grabbed her by the wrist “let’s go!”

”huh wait-“ she couldn’t do much as she walked her to the book store

they walked to the book store and ren let go of makoto’s wrist

”so then! he we are so I guess you don’t have to keep looking right?”

”I guess..” makoto looked defeated as there wasn’t anything she could do

ren felt bad for makoto even though she did trail him and usually questioned him he couldn’t just leave her like that as it was to mean for him

”here let me recommend you some books seeing as your reading the first volume of” ren looked at the book makoto had in her hand “oh! I know that one here let’s go so I can show you the rest”

makoto had no real choice but to follow unless ren would find out about her stalking ren and keeping a close eye on him, not like he already knew

theu entered the store and ren showed makoto around the shelves past the usual textbooks and other classical literature he guides her to the entertainment section filled with mangas, comics and other similar books

”i figured as much”

”figured what?”

”I mean someone as studious as you has to have at least some type of fun so it’s cool to see you read mangas, just try not to walk and read at the same time”

”I’ll heed that advice next time” makoto embarrassingly looked away as started to look through the shelves 

“here”

makoto looked to ren who tossed her a book

”if you want to start with having books a little different than your usual textbooks I’d suggest that one”

she looks at the book then back at ren “I appreciate the thought”

”no problem, well I’m gonna go I have to work so I’ll see you around”

“sure see you”

ren left the store while makoto was still looking for books

”wait, I was suppose to investigate him”

she remembered she was suppose to follow ren but he ended up stringing her along and dodging her completely 

and he most likely long gone so there was no point in trying to catch up with him

” _I can’t believe he outsmarted me_ ”

she sat down at a nearby table in the store 

she sighed and opened up the book ren recommended her and started to read it


	26. Operation maidwatch

Lunchtime

ren was sitting at the courtyard table again drinking some water when ryuji walks up to him with a huge grin on his face

”what happened did you win the lotto?”

”nope but I got this” he shows him the flyer that says maid service on it with a young adult in a maid outfit on the front 

“so what does this mean?”

”dude it means we can order a real maid and have her do stuff”

”like a housemaid?” ren was a bit more unknowing about these types of services as they never were brought up to him

”dude you’re way too innocent I’m taking about maids that’ll do everything for you”

”like taking out the trash?”

”no! I mean like they’ll touch your body and stuff” 

“oh” ren looked a little embarrassed that he was so clueless to something like that

”so then dude let’s do it”

“If you are then I want in”

they both looked over to see Mishima walking towards them

”ooho Mishima I didn’t know you were into this stuff”

”of course I am I need to research these types of services”

ryuji slumped his arm over mishima’s shoulder “I get it you wanna do some ‘research’ ok this stuff”

”I’m serious!” 

“don’t worry i know you are that’s why we are doing this it isn’t as bad if we do this for ‘research’ “

”yeah it’s to make sure this isn’t a scam”

”so then renren? you in?”

ren was shivering thinking about all of this as he wanted to blurt out and say ‘no I am not!’ but instead he said “s-sure let’s do it” while looking very much flustered

”alright so then our plan is set so we should do it tonight I’ll send you the location in where we’re calling them”

”wait location?” Mishima looked at ryuji a little skeptical in how he said it

”yeah some guy left one of the apartments near me so we can use that as our calling place”

”good idea we can’t have our parents know about it”

”ok so then let’s meet up at night so we can do it”

”alright see you then”

they both left as ren sat there still panicking but he left to go to his class before the bell rang

* * *

_**1-D** _

as he sat down he held his head in his hands

“ _crap! I should’ve just said no_ ”

” **oh ren it’s a man’s duty to experience this at least once** ”

” _what kind of man does that?!_ ”

” **brings a tear to my eye when you see your boy grow up so much in front of you** ” arsene wipes a fake tear from his face as he ignored ren’s question

” _not helping me arsene!_ ”

while ren is having a panic attack ann turns around to face him

”hey ren I have a question”

ren looked up at her as if the events that had just unfolded a few minutes ago never happened

”yeah what’s up?”

”we’ll i was wondering if you wanted to go out to eat with me, haru and shiho tomorrow?”

”oh sure why not but why isn’t ryuji going?”

“I think shiho said she didn’t want to have ryuji annoy us”

”fair enough he can get a bit much a lot of times”

“yeah so we should meet in Shibuya tomorrow?”

”sounds like a plan”

ann turned away and ren slumped back in his chair

“ **nice job you have a little date** ”

” _it’s not a date if there’s 2 other people coming_ ”

” **you never know** ”

” _whatever I just want to get this day done and over with_ ”

while ren was back to inner arguing with arsene ann almost had a heart attack

” _ughhh why did shiho tell me to ask him why couldn’t I just text him!!_ ”

* * *

_**Earlier this morning** _

ann and shiho were walking to school when shiho decided her plan should go into motion

”say ann, me and haru were thinking we should go get something to eat tomorrow”

”ok cool we should do it” ann said in a cheery tone as her and shiho sometimes went to cafes and restaurants to eat

”hold it missy, ren is coming with us as well”

”wait why only ren?”

”because ryuji is loud and yusuke has been dealing with madarame’s after effects”

”ok?” she then glared at shiho as she knew she was going to string her into a plan without her knowing “what’s your plan?”

”plan? I just want to go out and eat with friends”

”it’s kinda suspicious if you don’t bring along the other two”

shiho then got frustrated and scolded ann “listen here ryuji is too loud for us ok!?, now here’s what you are going to do”

ann got a little startled a shook her head

”you are going to ask ren to come with us and we will meet in Shibuya tomorrow afterschool ok!?”

”yes I will”

shiho giggled then went to school ahead of ann before she realized “ok have fun asking him!!!”

ann then stood there silently and slowly put two and two together “wait..SHIHO!!”

* * *

_**Present** _

“ _I'm gonna make her pay no matter what_ ” ann’s fists tightened as she thought of what was the best way to deal with shiho

” _when I get my hands on her it’s over_ ”

_**Evening** _

ren stepped into Leblanc and as he tried to go upstairs he got a message from both ryuji and mishima 

[Ry: you guys ready to partayy!!]

[M: yes we need to investigate that service]

[Ry: I’m gonna investigate so hard]

[Re: that’s scary]

[Ry: it’ll be fine]

[Ry: anyways let’s meet up at my house ASAP]

ren closed his phone and sighed

sojiro looked at him puzzled “you having problems”

”sorta”

ren headed upstairs and changed into his casual wear

he headed out to the stations and took the train

he met with mishima in front of ryuji’s house once he arrived

”so you ready for this?”

ren gulped anxiously “I guess I’m ready as I’ll ever be”

they go in and follow ryuji who was standing outside of the apartment door to let them in

they enter in and the apartment was empty no furniture or anything besides your standard appliances

“alrighty then this should be good right?”

”i see very smart of you as no one should be able to catch us if we do it someone else’s apartment”

”very smart do you ryuji” ren was actually impressed by ryuji’s thought process into it

”I know, I know I’m a genius”

”w-wait what if it really is a scam” mishima was still worried as the service may be a scam that they’re about to fall into

”it’s fine besides operation maidwatch must happen”

”yes operation maidwatch”

”anyways who’s calling them?” ryuji looked at the two

”hmm yeah who will”

they both looked to ren

ren looked very confused at the two as he was clueless to what was about to happen to him 

“what?”

“you’re gonna need this” ryuji handed ren the flyer 

ren took the flyer and looked at it before realizing what ryuji was signifying 

“wait! you’re not serious are you?!”

ryuji slumped his arm over ren’s shoulder and whispered in his ear “as our leader you have to do the toughest of decisions”

ren glared at ryuji as if this was going to be his last night “ryuji, you’re gonna owe me something as valuable as your life”

”aww don’t be so harsh ‘leader’ “ ryuji laughed while mishima looked in confusion to their quiet inner banter 

ren sighed and dialed the number on the flyer ryuji gave him

he called the number and a man answered the phone 

[victoria’s housekeeping thanks for calling]

“holy crap they answered what do we do?, what do we do?” mishima started to panic

”shut up” ryuji was trying to calm mishima down

”uhh yes we would like the housekeeping..services” ren was in complete terror but still wanted to keep his call facade up as long as he could

[i see any preferences?]

”none, send anyone really”

[can do what’s the address?]

ryuji told them the address 

[the maid will be there in 20 minutes]

”thank you..”

he hung the phone and they all sighed in relief realizing what they’re about to do

”oh god what should we start with, what do maids do sakamoto?” mishima started to slowly breakdown

”I don’t know?! I’ve only seen maids in movies”

”wait really? then what do they do?”

”not those kinds of movies!”

ren facepalmed at ryuji’s comment to the ‘maids’ he’s seen

”I don’t think I’m ready I’m gonna use the bathroom”

ryuji left the room to use the bathroom as he was panicking heavily to what they are about to do

”hey amamiya-san what should we do?”

”wait why’re you asking me?!”

”because your the calmest one in the room and I don’t think I can do this”

ren sighed as held his brow “it’s a maid service what don’t you get about it?”

”i don’t think I can do this kind of commitment” mishima shook very nervously

”then why did you come?!” ren didn’t know why the boy brought up enough courage to even show up

”I wanted to make sure it wasn’t a scam” 

ren inwardly facepalmed while he still kept his cool if ryuji had said this ren would’ve most likely hit him over the head or scolded him for doing such a dumb decision

ryuji walked back in the room while still holding his stomach 

“you were in there for a while”

”this is our first step after all”

”first step?” mishima was still clueless to everything about this situation ”isn’t this just a housekeeping service?”

”well yeah but they Amy do something extra you never know..”

as they start the nervously laugh the doorbell rings which startled the both of them

a woman’s voice spoke which didn’t help the two boys from overreacting ”hello..the door is unlocked so can I come in..?” 

“crap this is too much I can’t do it!” ryuji finally let out his true feelings on the matter

”me neither I can’t do this”

ren walked to the both of them and put a hand in each of their shoulders “I’ll take it from here just go to the balcony”

”r-really man you mean it”

“you’re paying for the rest of our ramen nights from now on got it?”

ryuji said with tears in his eyes “I’ll never forget you..”

they left for the balcony while ren stood there looking at the glass door

“ **that’s a big commitment for someone who was panicking a few hours earlier** ”

” _he’s not gonna be safe after this though I’ll make sure of that_ ” ren cracked his knuckles as he was about to serve ryuji his just punishment

“excuse me?” the woman’s voice was in the room which gave goosebumps to ren

she coughed and readied her voice “welcome home master, Nyah!”

she made a cat noise which didn’t make ren nervous but made him really skeptical to the situation

” _did....did she just make a cat noise_ ”

” **she looks really familiar..** ” arsene scanned her as she had the same body and face as a certain someone they came across before

”I’m Becky, the one who will be serving you for today, Nyah!”

” _she did it again!_ ” ren inwardly cringed at this

” **just meow at her back see if that works** ”

ren gulped “nice to mee-ow-t you”

becky was shocked that someone had played with her act instead of just tolerating with it

”anyways master what would you like me to do? cooking, cleaning, laundry or..”

she walked up to ren while ren still looked at the glass door as one of the shutters was slightly opened to the outside revealing an eye peeking through

”you look very young master..are you in..high school?”

” _I’m just gonna be honest with her_ ”

” **why not, it’s not worth the trouble of this situation** ”

”yes I am” ren turned around to look at the maid as he readied for his apology when something he never expected nearly made him jump

”wait a second you’re..”

before Becky could speak further two voices could be heard outside the window

”aww come on it was getting good..”

”hey let me take a peek”

it seems that both mishima and ryuji were fighting over who got to peek through the shutters 

becky grew very wary of the window as she walked over “someone there?”

”crap mishima run!”

”run where? hey! waiittt-”

a thud could be heard as ryuji and mishima jumped off the balcony into a bush below

” _they weren’t that high up but I hope they’re ok_ ”

” **knowing ryuji he’s most likely fine** ”

 “wait mishima-kun and sakamoto-kun?” she turned around to face ren “and you’re!?”

”ms Kawakami?!”

”oh no no no this is our first time meeting ever, nyah?”

”that Nyah felt disingenuous” 

kawakami sighed “yes it’s me your home room teacher”

” **I knew it** ”

”I cannot believe I was caught and by a student nonetheless”

” _I feel bad for her now_ ”

” **well maybe that research was worth it..** ”

” _before you ask I am not_ ”

” **awww but i didn’t even get so say anything..** ”

”so did you request me specifically or did someone tell you about me?”

”umm ryuji gave me this flyer” he showed her the crumpled up flyer that was in his pocket

“dammit” she facepalmed “to think I stuffed that flyer in the mailbox of a student”

”so..what’re we gonna do now?”

”listen we cannot let any of this out to the public as it would not only cost me my job it might get you in some trouble for calling this type of service”

”right..”

”well i guess I’ll be off” she left the apartment and ren gave a sigh of relief

“that was way tougher than I thought”

he stepped outside to look over the balcony where both ryuji and mishima jumped off of

” **seems they escaped the bush** ”

” _i wanna go home.._ ”

a couple of minutes later mishima and ryuji step back in

”sakamoto you shouldn’t have forced me off like that!”

”well it’s better than being caught isn’t it!”

”I have thorns in my clothing now”

”well at least you’re not caught”

”still!”

ryuji looked over to ren while mishima was taking thorns and other things out of his shirt and pants “so how’d it go?”

”she left and that was that”

”damn so I guess we’re not going to call that again right” he laughed

ren out a hand on his shoulder and gripped tightly “you’re gonna have to learn what it means to not be bone headed”

”please don’t hurt me..”

“I’ll be going home then so see ya”

”oh bye amamiya-san” mishima waves ren goodbye as he stepped out of the apartment 

mishima then looked to ryuji who had his arm on the wall as he leaned on it

”are you ok?”

”please tell my mom I love her if I don’t come back to school tomorrow”

”ok?”


	27. Stronger together

Daytime

ren has met up in Shibuya just as shiho told him to

haru and ann were also suppose to show up but neither were present at this moment

ren checked his phone to see that he may have arrived a bit earlier than what was expected 20 minutes to be exact

” **i think you arrived a bit early than what was needed** ”

” _yeah but I mean I didn’t want to be late to this_ ”

” **someone’s excited, expecting something good to come your way?** ”

” _nothing in particular_ ”

a couple minutes past by and ann shows up

”hey you came here early”

ren smirked at the compliment ”yeah I didn’t want to be late-“

ren lost his train of thought after he took a good look at ann who was wearing a short light blue dress that exposed her arms and legs along with her with being down instead of their usual pigtail hairstyle

”what?”

”nothing! y-you look nice” ren looked away in a bit of embarrassment as he slightly blushed

”oh..thank you” ann was also blushing as she looked down

”dammit shiho where are you?” ann didn’t think she could handle being alone with ren without anyone else being with her

* * *

**_an hour earlier_ **

shiho was at ann’s house as she wanted to make sure ann looked nice for their ‘hangout’

”shiho why are you choosing an outfit for me?”

”so you can look nice for your date-I mean hangout with ren and us”

 “wait what was that?”

”nothing! here this dress would look cute” she threw a dress at her

“I guess so”

shiho eyes down ann as she looks straight at her hair 

“still we’re missing something”

”what are we missing?”

”remove the pigtails”

”huh!?” 

“remove. those. pigtails.” shiho said in a serious tone as she pointed to her hair

”b-but why?” ann said as she held her pigtails 

“because ren has seen you many times with your pigtails up so in order for you to truly swoon him over you have to change your appearance”

”I-I don’t think I can, Ive had these pigtails for my whole life I don’t think I can take them off” ann has had her pigtails since she was a small child as her mom always did them for her and it was a big commitment for her to take them off

”ann” she put her hands on ann’s shoulders “remove them or else I will”

they were only 6 words but very powerful ones as ann knew how forceful shiho could be but she wouldn’t simply just back down as easily

”no!” ann decided to chose the harder option for shiho

shiho chuckled before pushing her down and trying to grab her pigtails to free them

”just let them go!”

”no I can’t its too embarrassing!”

”you won’t know until your try!”

after a bit of struggling ann gave in

“fine then let me take the off at least!”

shiho got off of her and let ann sit back up

ann slowly unraveled her pigtails as she let her hair all the way down

shiho smiled as she saw her hair be all the way down

”you should do this more often”

”I will not!”

”awww c’mon ann don’t you want it impress rennn?” shiho said with a smug look on her face

”not funny!”

”ok anyways you’re gonna be late so put the dress on and I’ll see you there” she threw the dress on her and left the room and ann’s house

* * *

they didn’t make eye contact with each other which made their entire atmosphere very awkward as they awaited their friend’s arrival or so they thought 

both of their phones beeped and they picked them up to see what messages they got

shiho had made a separate chat for the 4 of them which she sent a message in 

[S: sorry guys me and haru might not be able to make it so enjoy the cafe without us :)]

in ren’s mind he was pretty calm about it but he still was nervous 

“ _wait is she really not able to make it?_ ”

” **this could be your chance** ”

” _yeah but I don’t know it’s really awkward right now_ ”

” **it’ll be fine besides I think shiho might’ve staged this entire event for you** ”

” _wait really?_ ”

” **most likely** ”

” _that’s cool of her_ ”

 **well I’ll leave this to you** ”

” _say what now_ ”

” **ren it’s time to test your charms and see how far you’ve gone** ”

” _arsene I don’t think I can do this without you in my corner_ ”

” **don’t worry I’ll be in your corner but that corner will be very far away** ”

” _arsene don’t do this_ ”

” **have fun on your da~te** ” arsene flew off leaving ren by himself to take on the situation

” _I’m gonna kill that top hat wearing winged bastard_ ”

while ren was starting to lose his cool ann was mentally panicking

” _shiho!!! I swear she is so done for how could she do this to me?!_ ”

as she wasn’t panicking an idea clicked in her head “ _wait I can just leave right? sure it’ll be rude but I can just leave couldn’t I?_ ”

then another notification beeped on her phone 

it was a message from shiho herself and ann opened it

[if you leave right now I’ll tell ren about your crush for him]

shiho made sure ann had no choice but to stay otherwise she’d be in more trouble if she did leave 

“ _dammit shiho_ ” ann’s hand shook as she held her phone “ _how could she leave me like this_ ”

ren looked to ann “so I guess they’re not coming, should we go?”

ann looked back at him and nervously spoke as she put her phone back in her bag “s-sure let’s go”

they both walked towards the cafe they were all supposed to go originally

although shiho said she wasn’t coming she was right there the entire time but her and haru were spying from a distance as they setup the entire hangout to bring both ren and ann closer together

”shiho do you really think it’ll work”

”I’m certain otherwise I’ll have to step in”

”I don’t think that’s would help anyone”

shiho looked over to haru’s bag which didn’t have the energetic cat in it

”by the way haru where’s morgana?”

”oh he’s been sulking ever since that contest they had and I’m a bit worried for him”

”he’ll be fine”

”I’m not so sure last time I saw him he was rubbing his face and crying on a magazine with ann on the front cover of it”

”I think he may be depressed, wait do cats even get depressed?”

”I think so..”

”does he eat?”

”yeah he eats his tuna but he always asks for more”

”then I think he’s perfectly fine” morgana always ate as much fish as he could

”are you sure? I don’t think stress eating is healthy”

”I mean you are right” shiho started to think of solutions for the poor cat but then realized that they were supposed to be spying on the couple “wait that’s not important they’re leaving our sight lines”

they quickly got up and trailed the two as they walked on to their destination

both ann and ren had made it to the cafe and decided to eat out in one of the outdoor tables

the cafe had a nice comfy home type feel to it

“so was this the cafe you guys wanted to go to?” 

“yeah I was the one who suggested it to shiho and she had a good plan for what we should do sometime _but now I see where the plan has turned to_ ”

“that’s cool but I can see why you chose this place it has a nice feel to it like I’m back home...back home..”

ann saw that ren’s mood was starting to go down as he was still homesick

”well it’s fine though..right”

”yeah it’s just the atmosphere feels so close to me”

”you’re still homesick aren’t you?..”

”well of course but it’s nothing I can’t handle, after all you guys are here so there’s no point in feeling down”

 “then that’s good, anyways should we eat now? my stomach is starting to howl”

”sure” ren gave a smile to ann as they ordered some food

meanwhile at a different table both shiho and haru sat by in a disguise of course even though they looked very noticeable but they were still undetectable from the two

shiho sipped her coffee she ordered while she stared at the two

”I see the plan is starting to work out”

”so shiho”

”yes?”

”first of all your fake mustache is falling off” she looked to the mustache that was starting to fall off of her lip

”oop, my bad” she fixed the mustache

”why are you wearing a fake mustache?”

”because ann knows what I look like if I put my hair down so a dark hoodie and a fake mustache should do the trick”

haru sighed then giggled “you look pretty funny wearing it though”

”well we have to look inconspicuous at all times, at least my disguise hides my face your straw hat doesn’t cover all of your poofy hair”

”still who would look at me”

”I guess your right”

while they were talking the could hear ann giggle which made both of them very weary of the two

”shhhh they’re talking”

they looked over to see ann laugh while ren sighed as he told her some embarrassing story from his past

”I see your friends really cared for you”

”yeah mainly throwing cake in my face”

ann laughed a bit more before speaking again “still I can see why you’re friends with them but I guess you had a weird group of friends even back there”

”yeah we really were different”

”but I can see why, you bring people together I don’t even think that your friend group could hold up without you”

”you may be right but they’re back home waiting for my return so I think it’s safe to say they can hold themselves fine”

”that’s fair”

”but I might as well make the best moments I can right now”

”then let’s make the best moments together” ann said while slightly blushing

“you can say that when you don’t have frosting on your face” ren pointed out that ann had some frosting on her face from the slice of cake she ordered

”do I?”

“here let me get that” ren grabbed a napkin and wiped ann’s cheek off while she turned red from embarrassment

”t-thanks for that..ren”

”no problem I couldn’t really say anything because you were enjoying that cake so much”

ann pouted “it would’ve help if you did”

ren chuckled “but you looked so cute saying something so bold with some frosting on your face”

ann was getting more flustered from ren’s teasing “i-i was not”

ren chuckled a bit more “I guess you weren’t”

ann sighed as she kept eating her piece of cake

after a bit more chatting they left the cafe and headed off whole still being followed by both shiho and haru

“hey ann let’s go to the park”

”huh? any reason why”

ren sighed then smiled “let’s just go” he grabbed her hand and walked along to the park

after reaching the park they sat down at a bench

”ren you didn’t need to pull me along”

”well I didn’t now if you would go or not”

”of course I would..as long as if it’s you” ann said the second part a bit quieter but ren still heard it and it started to make his heart beat faster and harder

”thanks..I didn’t think i meant that much to you”

ann looked at him and turned red to what she was insinuating “w-well you do so..” ann’s brain started to feel a rich of emotions that she couldn’t handle and she started to short circuit

ren laughed “although I appreciate it”

”you always help me, I wish I was as strong as you..” she looked down to her feet

“I’m not that strong I’m pretty weak”

”that’s not true! you’re always helping everyone around you even if they don’t trust you or consider you an enemy” years started to swell in her eyes

”ann..”

she looked straight at ren’s eyes while tears started to drain and fall out of her eyes “when kamoshida took advantage of me I-I thought I was a goner and I might’ve killed myself but then you stepped in and saved me. I’ve tried my hardest to do the same and yet you’re the one still helping me out, I try to help but I end up hurting more than helping” more tears started to come out as she spoke “I’ve nearly collapsed just trying to keep going, I cry nearly each night thinking of I’ve done the right thing and each time I feel like everyone is walking away from me and leaving me all alone”

ren held her face as her she kept sobbing “ann it’ll be fine no one will leave you and if everyone does and you can’t move anymore I promise to still be there for you and I’ll care for you each step of the way”

ann held ren’s hands as they held her together from collapsing on the ground “do you really mean it?”

“of course I do”

”then what does it mean to be strong?”

”well I guess it means to keep going even when the world is against you” at least ren’s definition of what strength is to him

”I see but can I really do that?” her tears came out less and less as ren comforted her

”no..”

”huh?” ann looked at him as it seemed he wasn’t confident in her abilities to become stronger

”we can, together”

ren then leaned in and locked lips with ann as he closed his eyes to get the full effect

as ren did this ann’s emotions rushed out all at once as she didn’t know how to react besides holding him as well and making sure they couldn’t be separated because the moment was too heartwarming for her to let go of immediately

after a bit ren let go of her but ann still held her arms on his neck while he laid her head under his chin

”so do you really want to become stronger with me”

ren hugged her “of course, I believe we can become stronger but only together and not by ourselves”

“I don’t mind that if it means I can lay comfortably in your arms”

that comment made ren blush even harder than he already was “I appreciate it that you think that”

ann looked at ren teasingly “aww are you blushing”

”not particularly”

ann giggled “well I’m not letting go I want to stay like this for a bit”

”someone’s mood changed”

”well..I’m glad you’re willing to be with me, I thought I was the only one thinking this way”

”it makes me happy to know that but I don’t mind staying like this for now”

”good” ann giggled while she hugged ren not letting him go

as this went down a bush away from the group rustled as shiho and haru left it crying from what they saw

haru wipes the tear from her face and smiled “that was beautiful”

shiho rubbed her eyes with her arm “it felt like I was watching a romantic movie and it had a beautiful ending too”

“still ann was hiding some serious pain with her”

shiho looked at haru “I guess she didn’t want me to worry for her sake but I’m glad she can finally recover before something happened to her

”well does that mean mission accomplished?”

shiho waved her fist in the air while still crying “yes..yes it does”

”good! now let’s leave them alone before they catch us”

”right!”

they both walked off while the two lovebirds sat on the bench sleeping happily in each other’s arms as both of their wishes have became true


	28. Ren’s training

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little joke chapter before I delve into the end of madarame’s confession and the start of Kaneshiro and makoto’s arc

Lunchtime 

both ren and ryuji were in the courtyard again as they usually ate lunch together 

ren happily sipped on his drink while he ate his sandwich 

ryuji noticed his joy to the situation and started to question him as he was usually indifferent about school

”dude you feeling good? it’s like rainbows have been flying out of you every since yesterday”

”is it obvious?” ren said still in his cheerful tone as if he didn’t care about anything around him

”what’s obvious? did something good happen? you better tell me” ryuji was pretty curious of his friends happiness to school of all things

”I’m not so sure last time I checked I was the one who paid for ramen last time”

”wait I had to pay it?!”

”you still owed me for that whole maid thing when I stuck my neck out for you”

”I thought we were friends”

”real friends keep their end of the bargain”

”...” ryuji had nothing else to say as he wasn’t that good at keeping his end of the bargain and he probably owed ren his life for the numerous things he put him through

”I see you guys are as lively as ever”

they both looked to see haru and shiho

”hey where’s ann?”

”where’s ann??” shiho said mocking ren “oh I don’t know maybe you should go look for her and try not to get all lovey dovey when we’re all here” shiho snickered while ryuji looked at her confused at what she wasn’t getting at

haru sternly looked at shiho amd she backed off immediately as she forgot the poor cat was in her bag

”so then ren can we continue our training?”

”training? like in the metaverse?” ryuji said wondering what they did in their free time

”nope, hard training”

”really then can I join? I don’t want to lose to you”

“alright” ren looked over to haru “is ann going to join us?”

”I’m not sure i haven’t asked her, but let’s meet at the gate just in case”

”sounds like a plan” ren stood up and started to walk off “see you then”

ren walked away leaving the 3 on their own

”hey guys”

the two of them looked to ryuji

”I’m not the only one who feels like I’m missing something right?”

haru sighed while shiho facepalmed from ryuji’s inability to figure and piece out any problem in front of him even though all the hints were there and easy to figure out

Afterschool

the whole gang except ann who couldn’t join because of her modeling that she decided to take seriously and yusuke who was still tending to madarame and who’s bones would most likely shatter if he trained

”so then are we ready”

”hell yeah I can’t wait to get fired up!”

shiho light heartedly laughed as ryuji didn’t know what he was about to get into 

Haru’s suite 

they all entered haru’s place and went into another room where it seemed like a small dojo was built inside of a mansion

ryuji looked in amazement “woahh cool I didn’t know you had a room like this in here”

haru giggled “well it was a spare room so I arranged it to be turned into a training facility for us”

 “well that’s nice say what kind of moves are you gonna show us ren?” ryuji looked over for ren’s validation but ren had disappeared from his sight

”ren?”

”that’s sensei to you”

ryuji looked over to see ren with his arm crossed in his black sweatpants but he took off his jacket and wore it on his waist as he had his black tee and a black headband on his head

”ren what are you doing?”

”sensei..”

”ren”

”sensei!..” ren was started to lose his patience

”sensei what are doing?”

”I am preparing myself to show you how to truly become stronger like me”

”that’s cool but why the goofy gear”

”what you think is goofy is what’s necessary to become stronger isn’t that right my disciple”

”yes, sensei” shiho was next to ren in the same exact pose that ren was in and she was wearing a white headband compared to ren’s black headband

”dude you’re really freaking me out”

ren sighed “if you insist on being rude to your sensei then I have no choice”

”no choice I’m what?”

”you will battle haru but first you must get into more comfortable clothing”

”sure..I’ll be right back”

ryuji stepped out to go change into his training outfit of shorts and a sleeveless shirt

ryuji stepped back in to see haru standing across from him and both ren and shiho sitting down on their knees on the sidelines

”are you ready ryuji?” haru said while giving her normal innocent smile

”uhh sure”

ren raised his hand in the air to signal when they should start to battle

haru bowed to ryuji and ryuji followed what she did

”..BEGIN!” ren dipped his arm signaling that the battle should now commence

haru ran up to ryuji startling him to go off balance which gave haru the immediate easy take down as she tripped ryuji and threw him down on the mat

ryuji slammed onto the mat as he looked at haru in complete disbelief to what just happened to him

”wha- wha- what just happened?!?!” ryuji sat up as he stared at haru not understanding what she just did

”do you want to go again”

”sure but this time I’m not losing”

they both went to the opposite sides of the room and ren had dropped his arm again to signal that the match should start

”..BEGIN!”

this time ryuji ran to haru so that he couldn’t be caught off guard again and haru did the same

ryuji let his arm out but haru dodged it them grabbed his arm and threw him onto the ground smacking his back hard and leaving him out of breath

ren and shiho walked over to the two as ren clapped

”very nice haru your reaction time has improved greatly”

haru giggled “thanks you captain!”

”sensei..”

ryuji sat up looking completely shocked as he pointed at ren

”what the eff, how long have you been training for?!”

ren started to count on his fingers “like 2 or 3 days at least”

”there’s no way! how skilled are you in martial arts?!”

”I’ve learned for two years straight and I did some karate classes when I was a kid so I’m pretty versed in it”

”dude you scare me sometimes”

”now then” ren helped ryuji up “let’s do some training if your up to it that is”

”hell yea, there’s no way I’m gonna back down after losing to some chicks”

”someone doesn’t seem to learn much” shiho said as she stood next to haru

”shut up I need to know what you guys did so I can beat up some and guys”

”well it’s gonna take some effort and being thrown to the ground a lot” shiho said as she rubbed her neck

“wait being thrown to the ground? like how-“ before ryuji could finish his sentence ren threw him over his shoulder 

“that’s what I meant”

ryuji laid on the ground and spoke “I see was he like this with you”

shiho crouched down to talk to ryuji”well no he told us to watch out for everything thennn he threw us to the ground well not like how he did to you”

”that’s cold man, real cold”

”I don’t think you can speak about being cold ryuji” ren was still bitter towards ryuji

”I see this is my punishment fair enough”

after ryuji got back up ren started to teach him the basics

”alright now on to step 2”

“lay it on me”

”you need to have a good form” ren looked at ryuji who slouched over when he walked “and you need to get rid of that hunch you have there”

”right..” ryuji stood straight as he was weary what ren might do to him if he didn’t listen

”now you must have a good stance in order to be on high alert”

”right” ryuji got into the same from haru was in before she threw him to the floor

”and that’s step 1”

”for real?!”

”well yeah it’s just the basics”

”what else is there?”

”we’ll theres the simple philosophy of attack your opponent as soon as they’re about to attack you”

”wait how does that work?”

”shiho!”

”yes!” shiho immediatly stood next to him

”try to attack me”

”roger”

shiho proceeded to attack him but all of her strikes that she tried to pull were immediately countered as soon as she tried to move her hands

”ohhh I get it so you attack first before they can attack”

”pretty much”

”like how though?”

”when you see them about to attack you hit your mark first before they can land their attack”

”ok here let me try”

“here I come” ren runs up and attacks ryuji but ryuji miraculously hits him before he could attack but is immediately blindsided by a chop on his head

ryuji held his head in pain “oww man, I didn’t know you were gonna do that to me”

”step 3 always expect the unexpected”

”dude that’s so bogus”

ren chuckled “I learned the hard way as well”

”wait really?”

”yeah my dad kind of kicked my butt when I was a kid” ren recollects when he sparred with his dad and was thrown down so many times that his mom had to interject because ren wouldn’t surrender and it seems like his spine might’ve broken during one of those time

“so even you had trouble”

”of course! did you think I learned as soon as I could walk?”

”n-no”

”ryuji you’re an idiot”

”I know”

”anyways new step”

”ohh what is it gonna he this time?” haru said as she was anxious to learn

”combat against an armed shadow”

”wait what” shiho was immediately startled when ren said armed”

ren pulled out a wooden staff “alright now then come at me”

“ren you’re not gonna hurt us right?” shiho said as she nervously hoped ren wasn’t serious about using the staff to attack them

rem laughed “haha nonsense”

”oh thank god” shiho sighed a breath of relief

”you guys are gonna dodge otherwise you get hit”

”I don’t think that’s safe ren” haru got a bit nervous

”it’ll be fine I’m not gonna hit you directly”

”at least he can assure us that” shiho said as she was trying to think of a way to get out to this “hey ryuji”

”hmm what’s up?”

shiho then grabbed his back and his shirt “ok I’m ready!”

”wait this is not fair! I don’t wanna die”

”ren go for it he’s all yours”

”shiho!!”

ren started to walk forwards with the staff in his hand

haru also stood behind shiho

”haru you too?”

”don’t worry I’ll handle your hospital bills”

”that’s not reassuring!”

ren kept walking slowly as the three waiting for their impending fate

as ren stood only a few feet from ryuji

but before he could swing the staff he started to burst out laughing 

“ren?”

”you guys teach thought I was serious huh?” ren kept laughing as he held his stomach 

“dude not funny we thought you were gonna hit us!”

”yeah that could’ve been dangerous!” shiho looked a bit embarrassed that ren could threaten them like that then turn around and say it’s a joke

”I’m- i’m” ren couldn’t speak as he was too busy laughing

haru stood in front of ryuji and showed frustration to ren’s attitude to the situation “ren this is serious we thought you were gonna hit us!”

ren stopped laughing and started to breath “I’m sorry about that but I wanted to see what you guys would’ve done if I did threaten you like this”

”dude that’s not even cool!”

”but you should’ve seen the look on your face it was priceless” ren started to chuckled as he wiped the tears from his eyes

”you really are a joker aren’t you” shiho glared at ren and how he just thought this was a cool stunt to pull

”anyways you guys still want to train?”

“NO!” they all simultaneously disagreed to ren’s proposition after what just happened as all of their hearts were about to jump out

”we’ll then I have to go” ren picked up his bag that he left on the ground with all of his stuff in it “I have some other things to attend to”

ren started to walk off and smiled at the 3 as he waved “see you guys”

ren left the room which the left the 3 alone and not responding

”has he always been like this?”

”I think he has”

whole they were talking the door opened again to show morgana slowly walk in

”I didn’t know you guys were here”

”...” none of them responded as they were too busy trying to recollect their thoughts

”guys?”


	29. Leaving a print

Daytime

the group had all gathered around the in Shibuya as they looked at the big screen where madarame’s press conference was being shown

”hey ren is this it?” yusuke didn’t know about the confessions so he took it with the expert on how these things worked out

”most likely”

they looked up to see madarame crying his eyes out

they saw as madarame broke down and confess to plagiarizing work and abuse to his pupils

the conference ended with a news report about the confession

[another group called the phantom thieves seemed to have posted several notes on the exhibit however there relation to the case is unknown]

the people walking around Shibuya started to murmur to themselves 

“wasn’t this that group that did this I’m Kyoto”

”no way they’re real”

“but they steal hearts and force people to apologize”

”but why here didn’t they work in Kyoto”

the group inwardly smiled at the people’s reaction

“ _so we’re finally being noticed_ ”

” **it took this long yet we made such a presence in Kyoto** ”

” _does it matter we made it big_ ”

” **whatever** ”

arsene was dissatisfied with the turn of events to congratulate ren

the group decided to shuffle away to a more secluded area to talk with one another

unknowingly they were being watched by a certain student council president as they proceeded 

Shibuya walkway

they all stood around in the walkway with ryuji and shiho celebrating

”we did it!”

”it finally happened!”

”shhh not so loud” morgana warned the two

“so then that was the confession”

“it was but now that the media has blown this out to the roof we have to be extra careful”

ann looked at ren “what do you mean?”

”there’s more of a presence around us and not only that there seem to be more cops than before”

”you’re right about that”

”we’ll have to be extra cautious”

”like you can talk you can just hide in ren or haru’s bag!”

”shut up you idiot this is no time to bicker”

before ryuji and morgana were gonna have another fight haru had to break them up

”boys we can’t fight here we would want an ‘accident’ would we?” the way haru said it and the smile she gave made morgana and ryuji shudder

”let’s go to the diner nearby so we can discuss further”

**_Diner_ **

shiho sipped her glass of ice tea that she ordered “so then we’ve hit nationwide status”

”not quite they’re still considering it a hoax”

”but ren didn’t you take out like 10 scumbags and make them confess” ryuji didn’t understand why they couldn’t acknowledge the group

”I did but they were never announced to this status everyone thought it was just someone higher up who controlled them”

”that’s bogus though”

morgana stuck his head out of haru's bag ”even so mementos should have opened up though”

”what do you mean”

”you didn’t see the more famous we get the more into mementos we can go into”

”interesting but what’s at the bottom”

”who knows”

”let’s discuss that later, yusuke what’re you going to do now that madarame is in jail” haru

”I’ll be moving into the dormitories in Kosei”

”wait they have dorms?” ryuji was pretty jealous that he didn’t get to be in a dormitory by himself to his own without having a curfew

”well yeah Kosei is a very distinguished school although I would’ve asked ann to let me stay in her house”

ann almost choked on her water after hearing this “hell no! you can’t be serious”

”well actually I-“

before yusuke could continue his shoulder was grabbed by ren who was chuckling as his grip slowly tightened 

“how funny of you yusuke haha”

”but I was serio-ghh” ren’s grip on yusuke shoulder tightened which gave yusuke the signal to be quiet

while ren let go of yusuke’s shoulder shiho was snickering while she lightly jabbed ann about it

after shiho finished snickering it was decided they’d move on to more important business ”well then onto real business”

”what’s the real business?”

”our celebration for our takedown of madarame”

”celebration?” yusuke was intrigued by shiho’s proposition for a celebration of their takedown of madarame

“yeah it’s tradition”

”since when?” shiho wasn’t even the first member to join yet she took charge of the conversation and what they’re plans are

”since now you may be our leader but only in the metaverse now shoo”

”that’s not..”

shiho told off ren so he just sat there silently while ann comforted him

”anyways we should do it as a celebration for our break into the news, our takedown and you initiation”

”do you always do initiations?”

”well no we were busy dealing with kamoshida so we never had time..but I wouldn’t mind a late celebration”

“the buffet wasn’t enough?” ren felt like his gratitude was being attacked

“nope that was only our celebration for kamoshida”

”then why don’t we host it at haru’s house, didn’t you say you live in a penthouse or something like that”

”yeah I did but I’d rather not host it there”

”why not?”

”ehhh...ummm” haru couldn’t say it out loud as it would be rude to talk behind her maid’s back and the embarrassment was too much for her to handle

the other two girls couldn’t say either as it was to embarrassing to say but they tried anyways

”b-b-because..because..”

”we just can’t ok!”

both ann and shiho couldn't muster up the words correctly

”yeah I’ll have to agree with them i don’t want to wake up shirtless again”

”that’s still strange though I woke up on the floor” 

though neither of the boys didn’t remember anything that’s happened that day they still didn’t want to go to haru’s place

“speaking of shirtless, ren can you be the model again for my painting”

”wait again?”

”well we only got you down to your boxers and I wasn’t able to even paint either of you two”

”sorry I’m not going naked in front of you”

”c-can we not talk about ren being n-naked please” ann wanted to change to subject badly before her mind went to places she didn’t want to be in

”then ren why don’t we hold it at your place”

”my place?”

”oh yeah you said your staying at a cafe..that explains the reason why you smell like coffee”

”yeah but I’m not sure if we should hold it at my place, but I’ll see what I can do”

”well then that clears up business”

“was that really what you wanted to talk about” morgana hung his head low

**_Later_ **

aftwr the group dispersed to do their own thing ren returned back to Leblanc 

he opened the door to see sojiro looking at the  news

sojiro looked at him then turned back to face the tv

”geez seems like everyone is revealing themselves”

”yeah” ren started to walk upstairs “it’s good to show your true colors..”

sojiro looked at ren as he disappeared upstairs

”the hell was that about?..”

ren dropped down on to his bed and was consumed by the mattress as his phone rung several times

he picked up the phone to see it was ann

“hello..”

[hey ren what are you up to?]

”being consumed by my bed what about you”

ann giggled [seems you’re relaxed]

”very”

[anyways I want to know if you want to get some breakfast in the morning]

”sure where are we going?”

[its a secret!]

”all right then you’ll be my personal guide”

[i don’t mind that]

”cool then see you tomorrow morning”

[see you]

”love you”

[l-love you too..]

”is someone embarrassed?]

[n-no..]

”alright see you”

ren closed his phone and changed into more comfortable outfit for bed as he went to sleep

_**Velvet room** _

ren woke up back into his prison jumpsuit and the cabin ball still attached to his foot 

he got up and went to the door to see Igor and the twin wardens outside of his cell

”I see your progressing fine trickster”

”you’ve said that for 2 years now”

Igor chuckled “but your true test has yet to come”

”true test?..”

”your abilities will be tested in your next battles”

”wait what do you mean”

”good luck trickster”

“hey wait what do you mean?”

he got no reply as he was sent back to the real world and awoke in his bed

ren held his head as he was starting to get a headache

” **you haven’t been relaxing** ”

” _I really can’t_ ”

” **your body will give out one of these days** ”

” _if I can walk, I can walk_ ”

arsene nodded his head in displeasure “ **you really are a fool** ”

”...”

” **this won’t make you forget what happened** ”

” _shut up.._ ”

” **your hands will be forever stained** ”

” _I said shut up..nngh_ ”

ren held his head in pain as he tried to remember and the memory was too painful too see

“hey kid are you gonna eat breakfast or what?”

sojiro called him from downstairs as he already made breakfast

it also helped ren snap out of his own dilemma from forgetting what he couldn’t 


	30. Laying low

Lunchtime

ren walked upstairs as he was called to the student council room by makoto but she made sure it wasn’t fully blown up like the last time

ren entered the room to see makoto sitting down

”please have a seat”

”sure”

ren walked over and took a seat

”so you called me in?”

”yes I wish to have a chat with you”

“what’s it about?”

”I wish to formally apologize to you”

”apologize?”

”for several things including my surveillance of you”

” _in other words stalking me_ ”

”my disruptive behavior towards you, my mean spirited outlook towards you and my treatment of the entire situation involving kamoshida”

”what do you mean?”

”the principal knew about kamoshida and I did too even though I didn’t want to believe in those rumors I simply let it slide and let people suffer I don’t know how to truly make up for that”

”you don’t need to blame yourself for that we all make mistakes”

”but what I’ve done couldn’t be excused”

ren sighed “well then I’ll excuse what you’ve done for me but you’ll have to meet with shiho and ann for their take on it”

”very well I appreciate it”

”then I’ll be going back to my classroom now”

ren left the council room and headed back to his classroom 

he sat at his desk and fell apart at his desk

”ex..haus..ted”

ren closed his eyes as he slept at the desk

”sleepyhead...wake up”

”poke, poke”

”*sigh* it’s only lunch and you’re tired already”

ren felt something salty hit his lip and slide in his mouth gently but forcefully

he started to open his eyes but couldn’t see that well

”you’re finally awake”

ren scratched his eye and talked with the pretzel stick in his mouth “ann?”

”oh your gonna need these”

ren felt plastic slide over the sides of his head as his glasses were put back on

as his eyes adjusted to his glasses he saw ann smiling at him while ren was confused on why she had his glasses

”why did you have my glasses” ren saw ann had a box of pretzel sticks so he ate the one she put in his mouth

“I wanted to see you sleep without them”

“was that really what you wanted to do”

ann put up her bad acting skills to use “yeaaa I didn’t do anything else”

“ann..what did you do”

”I wanted a cute wallpaper so I took pictures of you sleeping”

”wait you took pictures of me sleeping?”

”yep!” ann gave a big smile as she giggled to herself

”you’re hopeless”

”but we’re in the same boat aren’t we?”

”in a way yeah”

”in a way?” ann didn’t like that response and it made her pout

“what did you get in the midterms?” ren never check the scores of his friends when the midterms scores came out so he was curious about the person who he personally studied with

ren felt ann seize up as although ren personally helped ann study for the midterms her score didn’t really improve by much as she couldn’t concentrate due to the ending of the study session which moved her a bit too much

”I got better than my older score” ann nervously spoke as her eyes looked away from ren’s eyes

”by how much?”

”a bit”

”how much is a bit?”

”a bit..”

”ann if I step outside what would your score be”

”only three ranks above my old one” ann said in a sad tone as ren flared at her

”I’d at least hoped you did better but progress is progress” he playfully poked her head “try to keep focus next time”

”I will don’t worry”

the bell rung and everyone slowly shuffled back to their own classroom

”guess class started we’ll see you after”

”right”

the day went on as slow as it could be with ren answering more questions and almost being taken out by a piece of chalk

afterschool 

the entire gang walked out of the school together even though ren warned them of being too suspicious

”ren it’ll be fine it’s not like we stick out so much”

”shiho I don’t think you looked at our group hard enough” 

“it’s fine not like anyone has been watching us”

”that’s a full blown lie we’ve been the talk of the school since I transferred”

”so what it’s not like we’re gonna get caught”

ren sighed as that was false as well as makoto has been on the trail for a while now and almost came close, key word almost

“anyways he should just lay low the social studies trip is coming up soon”

”ughhh I hate school trips”

morgana popped out of haru’s bag “then why don’t you skip it, it’s not like anyone will miss you”

”cram it cat!” ryuji wasn’t in the mood to be told of by a cat

”I’m not a cat”

”then what are you? huh?!”

”I’m..a human trapped in a cat body” morgana took a second to formulate his sentence but it still came out determined to undermine the blonde punk

ren stood in between angered and decided he would break the two before a fight would fully break out

”listen here you two let’s not get into a fight before everyone looks at us like weirdos”

”but he started it!”

”ryuji..” ren said in a menacing tone as he cracked his knuckles “is there a problem?”

”none at all! nothing at all hehe”

morgana started to laugh at how afraid he was about being on ren’s bad side “look at you, useless monkey bahaha”

”morgana do I have to do some discipline to you as well?” it was a bluff but with how menacing ren was acting it would most likely work on morgana

”no sir!!” morgana shriveled back into haru’s bag making himself unseen

”now that we’re done with that what’s the plan for today?”

”I think we have some more requests for some takedown”

”then I guess we can do that for now let’s not message yusuke if he wants to come”

[R: hey yusuke we’re going to do some requests do you want to come with?]

[Y: yes but I’ll be late as i have to run some errands quickly]

[R: alright see you then]

ren closed his phone and the group walked on to Shibuya to wait for yusuke who said he’d be late

Meanwhile

**_Kosei high_ **

yusuke was leaving his school as there were still some belongings left back at madarame’s atelier that he didn’t bring with him to the dorms

while yusuke was walking he saw a familiar uniform as she walked up to him

”yusuke kitagawa, am I correct?”

”yes but who are you?”

”I’m the student council president at shujin and I’d like to have a small chat with you”

”very well but why is the student council president here?”

“you’ve made friends with several students at shujin correct?”

”yes but what does that have to do with me?” yusuke was very skeptical why someone as busy as a student council president would talk to him of all people

”they’re have been many cases of these so called phantom thieves helping people and you’re one of the biggest victims out there that they’ve ‘saved’ correct”

”yes but what is your aim here?”

”I just want your personal opinion on something”

”which is?”

”are the phantom thieves good? or are they simply petty thieves”

”they’re good without them I wouldn’t have realized the real person under madarame’s facade”

”I see, so you believe they’re doing the right thing?”

”I am certain of it”

“well I am sorry for taking up your time I’ll be going now”

makoto walked away leaving yusuke puzzled as he stood there

”odd wonder what they might have to do with me”

yusuke wasn’t able to realize her ulterior motive and wouldn’t realize it until near a week later

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright kinda wanted to get a jumpstart on makoto and how she’ll fit in


	31. The detective

_**Tv station** _

the social studies trip to the news network came and really was boring for the group of four who came

“so, sleepy..” ryuji yawned as he didn’t sleep well and this boring field trip didn’t help

”I can agree to that I think going to mementos wasn’t a good decision” shiho was about to collapse into a deep sleep from their rigorous fighting as they had a lot of requests pile in after the madarame fiasco

”we already know about all of this stuff” ann wasn’t tired just frustrated 

“how long does this last?” morgana who wanted to tag along stared over ren’s shoulder

”anyways let’s move on to a more hands on experience”

the pr lady said as the students and crew shuffled around

”I wish I could’ve skipped” ren said as this wasn’t the ideal trip he pictured

one of the assistant directors walked up to the group but mainly looked at ann

”hey girly, you want to be on TV and show the world your awesome bod?”

ann turned to him not in the mood to retaliate against the guy

”but I’m on a school trip and I have a boyfriend”

morgana slumped back into ren’s bag regretting every decision he made so far as he was reminded of ann’s relationship

”he doesn’t have to know hehe” the guy said smugly while smirking

he tried to place his arm over ann’s shoulder but was immediately stopped as his wrist was grabbed by ren who had a good grip on his wrist

”sorry, but she is taken” ren said with an innocent smile as his grip slowly tightened

the guy retracted his arm and held his wrist “tch, whatever” he walked back as he talked to another group of students

”thanks for that ren!”

”no problem”

“now is not the time to flirt” shiho was exhausted and she couldn’t tease ann today

”this sucks how of this do we have to endure everyone here thinks they are all high and mighty” ryuji was tired of the adults doing what they wanted to do and wanted to go home

later

the group endured a long boring hours of standing by in the studio 

more was past school hours so the group group had met up in one of the hallways to chat about their next move

”I’m surprised I didn’t sleep during that”

”at least it’s over but we should get someone to eat after this it’ll be goood”

”ooh ooh what was the giant pancake place we saw earlier!” morgana was itching for some pancakes as they looked yummy

”oh you mean dome town, yeah we could go there they have an amusement park and everything”

”really that sounds fun”

”I don’t think they allow cats on the rides though and even if they did you might puke in ren’s bag”

morgana was now less enthusiastic about the thrill rides “I’ll pass on those for now”

as they talked a brown haired boy around ryuji’s height walked out of the corner

”excuse me are you students of shujin”

”yeah we are, but who are you?”

”my apologies we’ll be filming together my name is Goro Akechi”

”akechi..?” the name felt familiar to ann 

“akechi..” ren tightened his fists while they were in his pockets

”oh! your that detective” shiho finally remembered who he was

”precisely”

”detective?” ryuji said as he didn’t look like much to him

”he’s that detective that solved a lot of cases a while ago” shiho kept tabs on celebrities in case she ever met one

”well I heard you all were talking about pancakes earlier”

ryuji looked at him confused “who?”

”oh my apologies I may have been mistaken”

he started to walk down but stopped next to ren and gave a smile at him

he kept walking away while ren still glared at him while gritting his teeth

”hey ren you know him?” shiho said wondering why akechi was so familiar with him

”my dad is a detective so I’ve seen him a few times when I tagged along with him”

”Cool, but anyways let’s go to some town!” ryuji said as he walked down the hallway

”ryuji! that’s not the exit” 

”crap my bad”

the group walked on while ren kept to himself

”hey guys can we just get some cake and not go on those death rides? please?” morgana said as he shook nervously thinking about the rides that’ll make you vomit

The next day

the class was huddled into the recording room where a morning talk show was being played when akechi stepped in before the commercial break ended 

the announcer started to countdown so that they could be ready for when the show went on air

after some introductions the interview started between akechi and the 2 other tv hosts

”moving along you have a case on your mind that you are willing to share detective?”

”as a matter of fact I do, it would be the case involving the renown masterful artist madarame”

”ahh you very vocal about your stance on the matter”

akechi smiled while he lightly chuckled “it’s a shame what he turned out to be”

”speaking on the matter what is your stance on these phantom thieves? do you think they exist?”

“of course I do I wish for them to be as real as Santa Claus but if he was real I’d arrest him for breaking and entering”

the crowd erupted in laughter while ren stared at akechi as he knew what was under that charismatic facade he always kept up

”well even if they are real they should be tried in court and sent to jail”

that statement sent chills down the group’s spines as akechi said it in a completely serious tone without missing a single note

”but some people say that they help those abandon their old evil way and become self aware of their actions”

”but should one really control the hearts of other simply because they think that they’re doing something wrong, is that really was constitutes as justice?”

the crowd started to murmur to themselves about what akechi said

the group started to doubt themselves a little after what he said

”we’re doing the right thing aren’t we?”

”of course we are!” 

ryuji didn’t like what akechi was saying as he thought it was just some nonsense from someone who doesn’t know any better 

“very perceptive of you akechi brilliant as always”

”why thanks although is a bit embarrassing to be told that”

”anyways let’s look at the students if they think the phantom thieves are real”

after a bit of waiting the results turn out to be a split 50/50

”astounding a complete split, what are you thought on this akechi-kun?”

”a bit higher than what I expected”

”no then let's ask some students about the topic at hand”

one of the announcers gets up and walks towards the students

after eyeing some students down she looked to ren 

“you seem to be a good candidate, what are your thoughts on these phantom thieves”

”they’re justice itself”

akechi isn’t unfazed by what ren said as he sat there and pretended to be surprised

“even so they shouldn’t be putting the law in their own hands but that comment is rather intriguing”

”hmm do you have anything else to say akechi-kun?”

”by changing ones heart they could do a plethora of things besides extracting confessions”

”what do you mean by that?”

”I’m mean they could even manipulate them down to their very soul”

akechi’s statement shocked everyone in room but it made ren irk with irritation and anger

”that damn liar”

the host went on as he was moved by what akechi had said as it was a very intriguing topic at hand

”I see you’re very right about all of those things”

”but if such a group existed they could change the rest of our every day lives”

that last statement really put a cloud of doubt over the heads of the group minus ren

the show ended and the students started to leave the studio

as they walked on shiho couldn’t help but ask

”what he said may be right is it good for us to change the hearts of others?”

ryuji scratches his head out of frustration “he mad it sound like we’re the bad guys and it makes me so mad”

morgana peeked over shiho’s shoulder as he got into shiho’s bag earlier in the day “don’t let him convince you of anything, he can say whatever he wants but only we can decide for ourselves”

”we’ll im gonna take a leak can you guys wait for me?”

ryuji walked off to the bathrooms

”ah jeez I’ll see you outside, ok” ann and shiho kept walking leaving ren to stand there

”well, what’d you think of the performance?”

ren looked over and saw akechi walked to him

”akechi..”

”seems you’re doing well but what takes you to Tokyo of all places could it be you have found the source of the shadows?”

”wouldn’t you like to know” ren wanted to get out of this conversation immediately

”anyways, if you know what is best for you I’d suggest for you to break up your group unless I’ll have to myself and I mean that in the most literal sense”

”like I’d let that happen”

akechi lightly chuckled while smiling “seems you never learn do you? but I’ll make sure I’ll stop you before anything else can happen”

”you can fool me once but you can’t fool me twice”

akechi laughed “seems your humor hasn’t changed a it but besides that I have somewhere else to be but I do hope we can cross paths again someday but if we do it may be your last”

akechi walked off leaving ren to stand there

ryuji ran over to ren

”hey ren where are the others?”

”they couldn’t wait for you so they’re outside come on we can’t keep them waiting..”

ren walked off but ryuji could tell something was off as he heard a little piece of he conversation 

“ _but if we do it may be your last_ ”

”what doesn’t he mean by that?”

ryuji ran to catch up to ren as they made their way outside

* * *

 Two years ago in a random alleyway Kyoto

the alleyways was empty with some pieces of trash and some raindrops that appeared as it had just rained a few minutes ago

it was silent barely any sound to be heard

all of a sudden two boys appear out of thin air 

they settle back in to the real world patting themselves down

”we did it huh?”

”did what exactly?” the boy was confused on what he did

“we just stopped a criminal that’s what, even though its my third time it still gives me chills”

“wait you’ve done this before?”

”of course I have now look at us now we’re heroes”

”heroes..”

”exactly now that we saved so many people it’s time for a celebration”

he walked out fo the alley while the other boy stood there thinking and contemplating to himself

”I’m a hero..”

the boy peeked back into the alley “come on what are you waiting for goro? we have some pancakes to eat”

the boy snapped out of his thoughts “coming!”

* * *

 present day in a small apartment Tokyo night

akechi stared out of the window while he sipped on a cup of coffee

”heroes..what a trivial things to say”

” _we’re heroes_ ”

” _heroes_ ”

”heroes..”

the thought of it kept spiraling in his mind

”like he’d know I’ll show him what a hero is, I’ll show everyone!”

akechi walked away from the window as he was being taunted by his own memories

”I don’t need him I can manage all on my own”

akechi started to laugh at himself “what would he know he’s just some stupid idiot who can’t get the job done I don’t need him”

akechi kept reassuring himself as he spiraled into his own narcissism as the night kept getting darker as the light faded


	32. Hotpot celebration

Afterschool

the gang met up in Shibuya to discuss important matters..well food and celebratory matters that is

”alright then are we ready for our celebration” haru was pumped about having a celebration for their takedown of madarame even thought it’s been a week since his confession

”someone’s pumped” shiho jokingly said to haru

”of course I am we get to celebrate together as friends that should be the greatest part of it all”

”yes of course that’s sounds like a great idea” yusuke said as he fixed his luggage 

”hehe of course it is but aside from that what’s with the luggage?” shiho pointed to yusuke’s suitcase full of his belongings that he had with him

”well the dorms are filthy and noisy it’s very hard to paint in such an area”

“well where are you going to stay?”

”at ann’s house”

”huh?! now way I’m allowing that”

”but I even spent money on this thank you gift” yusuke pulled out a box full of expensive chocolates 

although tempting ann stood her ground “no way!”

”if it makes you feel better yusuke you can stay at ren’s place if you want” morgana said proudly as if he was a deity giving the gifts to the poor humans below

”wait why’re you making the decisions for me!?

”alright then that sounds like a plan”

”ooh! perfect hitting two birds with one stone, now then let’s not waste any time and let’s go!”

the others also cheered

yusuke said in sympathy to ren “sorry for the inconvenience”

ren sighed “it’s alright”

they all made their way to yongen-jaya

**_leblanc_ **

they all stepped in the cafe and took in the scenery 

“how old fashioned it is” shiho gazed at the interior

“it has a good feel to it like I’m home” even though haru had a different definition of what she’d call home

”smells just like a cafe” ryuji sucked at observations

sojiro who was behind the counter turned around and looked at the group a bit surprised “who’re they?”

”my friends” ren said understanding sojiro’s complete shock to this

”hello!” haru greeted sojiro with a smile

”so you brought three girls instead of one” sojiro smiled while giving him a thumbs up “nice”

”it’s not like that well at least not completely”

”hmm?” sojiro said intrigued to what he meant by that

”anyways can we borrow a pot as we’re having a celebration”

”a celebration of what?”

”for our new friend” haru looked at yusuke who was checking his luggage to make sure it was still intact

sojiro looked at the boy as he checked his luggage “well I appreciate you guys being friends with this troublemaker he can be quite a handful”

ren sighed “yeah, yeah but can we borrow that pot?”

”go right ahead and don’t make a mess or-”

”you’ll kick me to the street got it”

”well I was going to say your gonna clean it up but that works too”

”right”

ren took the pot out of the bottom cabinet and started to make his way upstairs

”come on let’s go upstairs there’s a stove somewhere in here”

”right!” shiho followed ren upstairs and the other pursues except ann who was called out by sojiro

”ann was it?”

ann stepped over to the counter and looked at sojiro a bit confused ”yep”

“so I’m guessing you were able to get him”

”get him?”

”you two are dating right?”

”o-oh that’s what you meant, yeah we are” ann was a little embarrassed because she wasn’t able to get the hint that quickly

sojiro smiled but then looked at ann with a complete serious look “I need you to do me a favor but don’t tell ren he might get a bit angry at me for it”

”sure..I’m all ears”

”just keep him out of trouble he’s been through a lot before he came here but he doesn’t want to show his past”

”wait what do you mean?” ann was very curious to what sojiro meant as ren was always some cool steady guy but never showed fear to anything

”I’m not sure his father was never able to get anything out of him so he might be hiding something deep in himself”

”you may be right as he’s always the type to worry about others and never himself”

”well I can’t keep you down here forever so go have fun with the rest of your friends”

”right!”

ann walked upstairs to see everyone look around ren’s room

”it’s surprisingly clean for an attic” shiho was snooping through the entire room

”hey nice gym equipment man” ryuji was snooping at a box full of different exercise equipment

”what’s with this desk and why is there so many tools here” haru stepped over to the desk where ren made lock picks and other items for the metaverse

rem who sat on a chair simply letting his friends gaze upon the decor emotionless as he let them snoop around his room for a bit

”alright guys I think that’s enough bothering ren for now so let’s go and get some ingredients for the hot pot”

ren stood up “I’ll set up the oven and the table”

after some discussion on what to eat they left the room leaving ren by himself

after ren set up the table and oven he sat on the futon while he recollected his thoughts

as ren kept blinking arsene re appeared

”hey arsene you seem to be getting more and more quieter” ren laughed

” ** _..._** ”

”arsene?”

” _you have to let go ren.._ ” a voice that wasn’t arsene but a voice he knew deep within

”huh who is-“

” _you have to ren if you want to survive_ ”

”who’s there?!” ren frantically looked around as he wasn’t sure who was talking to him or where the voice was coming from

all of a sudden ren held his head in pain as he tried to remember 

but he was snapped out of his thought when he heard the bell of the door signaling that his friends had returned from shopping

theh all piled back into the attic to see the table and chairs set up with the oven plugged in and ready for use

”I never knew there was a cheap market around here I may have to use it sometime” 

“yeah it has good prices for some really good food” ryuji said as he bit into an apple he bought

”hey ren sorry we took a bit long

ren who sat on the futon looked at them with a reassuring smile “don’t worry I didn’t wait long”

”was setting up a table so hard you’re sweating pretty badly” ryuji jokes about how ren was sweating

”nah I just did it a bit quick that’s all” ren laughed

“all right then we got the supplies now let’s feast!” shiho was waiting for the meal as she was starving and eating food with friends was good company

after setting the ingredients down it was time for the meal

”so who’s gonna cook?” morgana sat in the table a small he looked to each memener of the group

”I’ll cook I think I’m the best suited”

”you can cook?” 

“of course I can I’m not a slacker”

”your grades say otherwise ann”

ren caught ann there 

“whatever I’m still doing it”

they all laughed while ann was preparing the food”

”anyways onto more pressing matters” morgana said as he stepped on ren’s shoulder

”which is?”

”our next target”

”that’s kind of hard the Pham site doesn’t have any huge people to take down and there’s huge celebrities already being tailed by the police”

”yeah that’ll be hard to actually find people to take down”

”why don’t we talk about it later I’m starving” ryuji said as he rubbed his stomach

“wait until I’m done!”

after a while ann finished the hot pot and they all started to eat

”this is pretty good” ren said as he started to eat

”hehe thanks I’ve learned how to cook for a while now”

”this is very delicious” yusuke said as he was eating a bit fast which caught everyone’s attention

”yusuke I didn’t think you were this hungry” shiho said as she eyed down yusuke’s empty bowl

”I haven’t eaten since yesterday”

”y-yesterday? don’t you have money for food?!”

”I don’t have any”

”yusuke just how much was that chocolate?”

”over 12000”

that number made everyone look at him shocked

”yusuke you have to be wise with your money”

”I am wise”

”not when you spent all of your money on some chocolate”

after the group finished eating and advising yusuke on how he should spend his money they all laid on their chairs while ann and ren sat on the sofa

haru who was petting morgana as he laid there relaxing from eating checked to see if there was any left “seems the pot is empty, that’s good”

”but the udon we weren’t able to make it” yusuke said as he was still hungry but didn’t want to make more food

ann yawned “I’m so sleepy” she turned to ren “I’m gonna borrow your sofa...and your lap” she said as she rested her head on ren’s lap

ren let her rest and she could hear her snooze away “I guess she was sleepy” he put his hand through her hair as he petted her

shiho was snickering to herself while looking at ren “someone’s enjoying it”

”knock it off”

”speaking about ann, how did you meet ann ann?”

”so it’s ice breakers time, alright I’m down” shiho said as she stretched her arms “me and ann met in middle school when I insulted her painting skills in art class and we’ve hit it off since then”

”I see, but what about you three how do you know eachother?”

”well me and haru met in the metaverse when morgana asked her for her help

”because you wouldn’t help me”

”I did enough letting you out of the dungeon”

”alright but what about you ryuji”

”it was sheer coincidence but I showed ren how to get to school and we kinda just talked to each other until he invited me to join him one day it was a huge shock”

“how about shiho and ann how did you two join?”

”I guess I’ll take for ann but ren saved us from kamoshida and he told us about this place. in all honesty it was a huge shock and a huge relief both of us suffered so much with kamoshida it was a surprise when someone told us he could help us and yet here we are and I still can’t figure it out”

”that’s very sad but I’m glad you weren’t hurt in any way”

”it’s all thanks to ren I don’t think we would’ve survived without him”

“I haven’t done much”

”well that’s really all that’s happened to me and ann we’ve really only been hounded by kamoshida and besides being shunned by most of the students mainly ann there really isn’t anything else”

”that’s saddening indeed but haru what about you?”

”oh well, no one really talked to me they always treated me like I’m not worthy for them but I’m glad you are all my friends now it makes me happy knowing that I have friends to rely on and support”

”thanks good to know but there’s something that been bugging me”

”which is?”

”ren..how did you awaken your persona?”

a question that no one thought about until know and it raised the question among all of the what was ren like back then? people do change over two years so what was ren like back then? 

the room went silent as they never asked ren this and they didn’t know what else to say or do as ren wasn’t annoyed or overjoyed but sad

”the thing is..I don’t remember everything back then is so fuzzy I remember most of what happened after but I can’t remember”

ann who sat up immediately as she recalled what sojiro told her

”it’s ok ren you don’t have to force yourself it must’ve been a terrible moment as you were all alone back then”

ren chuckled “I guess your right but now I have all you guys so it’s cool” ren rubbed ann’s head in a playful manner “there’s isn’t anything to worry about”

”we’ll its getting pretty late so we should probably go and sojiro said you could stay yusuke”

”I’ll have to thank him for his kindness”

”just don’t spend all of your money on chocolates

everyone except ren and yusuke started to pack up their stuff and left the cafe

”say ren is there a bath I can use around here I like washing up before I go to bed”

”there’s a bathhouse next door we could go there”

”alright then let’s go”

**_Bathhouse_ **

both yusuke and ren sat in the hot water as they both let their mind ease away

”this is really nice”

”I’m surprised something like this is just outside the cafe”

”it’s pretty convenient”

”I have to thank you for showing me this”

”it’s cool joint the team was enough”

yusuke looked around to see the bathhouse was empty

”hey ren”

”what is it?”

”remember how the treasures we collect manifest into reality”

”what about it?”

”well I couldn’t exactly leave the painting in the dorms so I wasn’t wondering if you could keep it for me”

”sure I can do that”

”thank you”

”well I think it’s time to get out we’ve had our fun”

they leave the bathhouse and head back inside to sleep for the night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> was going split this chapter into 2 but this works as well and now we actually go into the Kaneshiro arc and not anything else


	33. Taken

_**??????** _

its dark with nothing to walk on and nothing to see

just an empty void 

ren opened his eyes and look around the empty void confused

”what kind of place is this?”

he looked around but saw nothing

all of a sudden he landed on the ground but there still wasn’t anything 

“hello?..”

he walked around but still saw nothing

” _why?.._ ”

ren turned around to see himself but his eyes more brighter as if he was summoning a persona in the metaverse

”who are you?”

” _why can’t you decide for yourself_ ”

”huh?”

” _its all your fault for their deaths_ ”

”I don’t know what your saying?”

his mirror self walked up to him and grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up ren couldn’t do anything but struggle

”why..nrghhh”

” _IN THIS WORLD ITS EAT OR BE EATEN_ ”

the mirror self’s eyes started to darken

” _ITS ALL YOUR FAULT_ ”

the more ren struggled the tighter the grip around his neck was

” _THEIR DEATHS SHALL BE YOUR ULTIMATE DOWNFALL_ ”

ren screamed but nothing came out and his eyes started to close as he was slowly losing conscious while his mirror self maniacally laughed 

Morning

ren shot out of his bed gasping for air while his hand held his chest feeling his heart beat rapidly

sweat was rolling down his head as took deep breathes 

“oh you’re awake”

ren looked over to see yusuke standing in the stairs

”your caretaker has prepared us breakfast so let’s go down and eat”

yusuke walked down stairs as ren landed back in his bed and held his head

”what just happened”

” **what?** ”

ren looked to see arsene looking at him again plainly

”nothing..”

Daytime

the gang met up again in Shibuya to discuss more about their next target

they sat at an open table near and open park

ryuji frustratingly sucked on the straw of his soda because they weren’t getting anywhere

”man isn’t there anyone we could take down?!”

”could you not be so loud” ann said as she bit into some sweet bread she bought earlier

“could you two not eat before our meeting?” morgana said as he looked at the two disgustingly 

“but this is so good” ann held our her sweet bread and ren snuck in a bite

”hey! you have to ask first”

”my bad” ren said as he took another bite

”this ain’t a time for us to eat we have to discuss”

”actually I’ve seen a lot of posts about strange people in Shibuya” haru showed them the post on her phone

”shady businessman..what do you think they want?”

”money ryuji, they want money..” morgana said in a disappointed tone

”shush”

”that should be a good start though” ren said as he looked over the posts

”what do you mean”

”there’s a crime lord so this could be a great opportunity to get our name even further out”

”a vigilante group that does things for justice by taking out a huge crime lord that should be good it’ll put our name out further”

”but how are we suppose to find some crime lord”

after some more thinking they realized they had no other leads

“so I see you’ve hit a dead end”

that voice made everyone raise their heads

they turned to see where the voice came from and saw makoto standing near the table

”wait I know you” yusuke said as he was the only one calm in this situation

”mako-chan?”

”sorry to barge in but I can’t let this go on any further”

”what do you want from us?” ryuji said defensively

”I know you are the phantom thieves so there’s no point in hiding”

“what do you got to prove that?”

makoto sighed and pulled out her phone and played a recording of ryuji blurting our how they’re the phantom thieves

”ryuji!” shiho said angrily glared at ryuji

”my bad!”

”are you gonna blackmail us?” ann said standing her ground

”no, no I am not I only have a request for all of you”

”a request?..” ren said a little surprised to what she meant

”I’ve been getting word that several students have been harassed and the principal isn’t doing anything about it”

”wait so you don’t get word about these things?” shiho said a little concerned to how careless the principal was

”sadly no I’ve been kept in the dark with a lot of things including kamoshida”

“well what else do you have besides the students getting harassed?”

”apparently they’ve been talking to some strange men who stand around central street and do things for them along they have been getting threatened”

”that’s effed up”

”do you know their name”

”no their boss’s name has been kept quiet to the point of the police not even knowing who he is”

”then I don’t think we can help you then”

”please I need you to help me”

”I don’t think we can help you if we don’t know a name”

“you can’t give up like this, this is a major criminal we’re talking about here”

”we’ll we don’t know the name nor who he is exactly 

“well I need you to help me with this”

”I’m sorry but I’m not sure if we can”

”fine then I’ll help you out in exchange for you taking him down”

they all looked at eachother shocked by her request

”I’m sorry but I think it’ll be too dangerous for you” yusuke said earnestly

”sorry mako-chan”

“yeah you’d just be getting in our way besides I think we can handle it” ryuji said bluntly 

”I’d be getting in your way?..” 

shiho slapped ryuji’s head “you idiot why’d you say it like that”

”I’m not useless!” makoto blurted our loudly

”we didn’t mean that Niijima-san” shiho said trying to calm down makoto

”I’ll prove I’m not useless!”

she ran off which made them all weary

”she ran off..” ann said a bit worried for her

”this might be bad”

” **ren it’s bad shes headed over to central street I think she might be trying to find the boss** ”

”that idiot”

ren blurted that out which caught their attention as he ran off

they called his name but gave up when he was out of sight

”ren!”

”where you going”

”guess we have to follow”

_**Central street** _

makoto ran into the back alleyway and stopped panting as she gasped for air

”hey girly you seem stressed out you want a job?”

she turned around to see a strange guy walk up to her

”you seem upset, did you get dumped why don’t you do this delivery job and get paid some money so you can stick it to him”

makoto wiped her eyes as she looked to him “what do you mean delivery?”

”simple task just deliver this package to some place and I’ll pay you”

”I’m guessing you work for the mafia”

the guy chuckled “your a strange one”

“sorry but I’m more interested into meeting your boss”

”sorry but I don’t think I know what your saying”

“you work for the mafia I’ve seen your boss” a total lie but makoto made it sound believable 

”and?! what are you gonna do if you do as if he’s gonna get arrested”

“so you do admit you work for the mafia”

the guy tripped on makoto’s words and he was trapped in her ulterior motive

”like you can say anything else once I’m done with you”

he backed makoto up on the wall

”so you want me to take you to the boss huh?”

”yes I’d like that”

he grabbed her by the chin as he laughed “I don’t think he’d mind if I played with our customer for a little”

”bastard!”

the guy is immediately pulled off a thrown against the wall being held by his shirt collar

”ren?”

”just who do you think you are kid?”

”who’s your boss..”

”I don’t know who you’re talking about”

ren’s grip on his shirt tightened as he was getting more and more angry

”you better talk”

”fine then just let me down”

ren let’s go of his shirt and he fell down onto the floor

”I can’t say his because he has me on a contract but I can show you his place”

”then take me”

”fine then”

”wait ren you don’t have to do this”makoto was a bit startled by how ren reacted

”too late”

the guy walked to his car

”let me just call I’m first”

”it better be quick” ren said sternly

”ren you don’t have to do this”

ren didn’t respond as he was listening to the guy talk to his boss

”heyo boss this guy says he wants to me with you”

”no, I think this is different”

”alright thanks”

he closed his phone then looked at ren

”he said sure now get in”

”gladly”

”ren!”

both him and ren stepped in and sped off leaving makoto standing there speechless

a herd of footsteps could be heard behind makoto as she stood there

”holy hell he is fast where’d he even go”

”niijima where’s ren?”

makoto stood there silent as they desperately wanted to know where their friend went

”niijima!”

”they took him..I’m sorry..”

”what do you mean?”

”he’s being taken to their boss”

”WHAT?!” they all said together as they were shocked to what makoto said as Rene as headings back into trouble once more

”I’m sorry it’s all my fault”

”well we don’t have time for that quick haru can you call your limo driver” ryuji said as the idea spun in his head

”it would take too long for them to get here”

”even then we don’t know where he went” yusuke said as he tried to think of a solution

”dammit that idiot”

then several vibrations from their phone were heard as they got a new message

[i see your in a pickle here’s the location]

alibaba came in at the right time as she was tapping into their phone to hear the conversation and sent them the location where head was headed to

”perfect now let’s call a your limo driver haru”

”right!”

haru called her limo driver but it would be a while before they could catch up to ren who’s ultimate fate was uncertain as they waited to see what would happen to him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright I’m gonna split this chapter into two and I’m gonna be switching the events of Kaneshiro a bit because I think this is the best way for them to meet him, well at least what I could’ve came up with to fit your requests


	34. The enforcer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright time for ren to be a customer of Kaneshiro...or well a bit more than just that

_**Goon’s car** _

ren sat in the front seat of the goon’s car as they drove to where his boss was located

”so how long till we’re there?”

”we’ll get there when we get there”

meek stared out the window as he looked at the cars passing by

” **ren why’d you threaten the guy like that?** ”

” _I thought she was in danger and something came over me_ ”

” **are you alright you seem different?** ”

” _arsene...is it my fault?_ ”

” **your fault? for what?** ”

” _seems like you don’t know either_ ”

ren didn’t know what was happening to him arsene seems to switch personalities, voices are starting to enter in his head and that nightmare which made him scared the most about what might be happening

the car stopped outside some type of club 

“so is this where your boss is-“

immediately ren had his head covered by a bag and had his arms held behind his back

he tried to struggle but was punched in the gut

”that’s what you get for holding me by my shirt bastard”

he was walked into the building and was dropped onto his knees with the bag over his head taken off

ren coughed and looked up to see a fat greasy guy with his hair gelled up and wearing an expensive purple shirt and slick black pants held up by a shiny silver and red belt

”so you’re the snooper asking about me”

”so you’re the crime boss I’ve heard about so much”

”I have to hand it to you, you effortlessly handled my goon here”

the goon who drove ren here was shaking nervously 

“I thought I told you to not lose your cool yet you lost your cool to some high schoolers”

”I-I’m sorry boss it won’t happen again”

”it’s better not or else I’ll have to let you go”

the goon was immediately sent to his knees and started to beg 

“please no! I swear! I’ll be better!!”

”you better be otherwise I’ll have you replaced”

”yes sir! thank you sir!”

”now where was I..oh right” he looked back at ren “you’ve got the looks and the strength”

”for what? what are you planning?”

he chuckled “you’re gonna be my new enforcer for my clients”

”huh!?” ren didn’t believe what he was hearing

 “your job is to enforce the debts of my customers and make sure they pay up soon or else”

”and what if I decline?”

”guards” he snapped his fingers and two guys grabbed ren by the arms and pressed him down onto the table

ren struggled to break free but as he did a flash of light burst through as ren’s picture was taken next to some mysterious bags of pills and powder

they let go of him and he stood back up

”what’d you do!”

he turned his phone around to show a picture of ren next to the bag of mysterious drugs “if you don’t listen to me I’ll leak this picture out and you’ll be arrested no one should be possessing these kinds of drugs especially a teenager such as yourself”

ren gritted his teeth as his probation would put him in a deeper situation then just drug possession 

“fine then I’ll comply with you”

”good, now then here’s this number this is the one you’ll call and if you try to get the police involved I will leak the picture of you”

“now run along I’ll contact for when your job will be ready”

”wait what’s your name!”

”like I’d tell you, now go on before I change my mind”

ren had to comply otherwise he’d be in serious trouble with the law and the fact he left his friends without a word

ren left the club and started to go on his way to the nearest station so he could go back to Shibuya and maybe meet up with his friends otherwise he’d go back home

” _why does this always happen to me?_ ”

” **I think it’s very valiant of you to do things like this it’s what a real gentleman would do** ”

ren sighed and was about to pull out his phone to contact everyone when a black limo drove up into the parking lot in front of him

the limo stopped and the doors flung open and ann stepped out

she walked up to him with her head down

“my bad, but at least I got some info-“

before ren could keep talking his face was hit by ann’s hand as she slapped him before he could finish his sentence 

ren held his cheek as he looked to ann who had tears streaming down her face

”you idiot!!”

she hugged him and held her face into his chest as ren felt her tears smear onto his shirt

”jeez ren if you’re gonna give us a heart attack let us know next time”

ren looked up to shiho and the rest of the group walk up to them with worry plastered all over their face

”dude what was that?”

“niijima said you went berserk on the guy and he took you in”

ren took a deep breath “sorry, I don’t even know what came over me but it felt like I needed to step in”

”that was really reckless of you”

”yeah and this is another reason I should be leader-mMPH”

haru shoved morgana back into her bag as it wasn’t the time for him to say he was better than everyone

”still ren there has to have been something that came over you”

”I’m not sure”

”well you went into the place what happened”

ren then choked on his thoughts as he remembered what their boss just told him what he’d be

”w-well I didn’t get his name”

”how?” they all said

”b-but I uh ummmm”

”..?”

”t-the thing is..”

”just spit it out!” ryuji was tired of waiting for his answer

”he made me his enforcer”

they all stared at ren even ann who took her face out of ren’s chest and stepped back to look at ren as they all looked at him with confused looks

”hehe I think I misheard can you say that again” shiho said while still pulling a fake smile

”I became his enforcer”

they still couldn’t grasp how a crime lord gave ren such an important role for him to fill

“I’m sorry it all my fault you’re now in this situation” makoto looked down as she was waiting for ren to scold her or yell at her maybe even hit her

ren laughed which confused makoto even more “don’t blame yourself I would’ve most likely rushed in reckless anyways”

”huh?”

”even if I had a choice I would’ve most likely saved you either way that’s what I did to everyone here”

makoto then took a look at the group as each of them have suffered quite a bit whether it’d be harassment, being used and being labeled they all had something in common with each other

”I guess you’ve all suffered through something..but I guess I have to”

”well welcome to the group”

”wait I’m a part of the group?”

“might as well be if you keep blaming yourself for my situation and if you feel you’re just useless you may have to be part of this group in order to be useful”

” **I’m guessing you see something in her** ”

” _I can tell she has that rebel spirit in there just need to pull it out of her_ ”

arsene started to laugh “ **you really are something aren’t you! well I have some info I may have taken when you were in class if you want it** ”

arsene whispered in ren’s ear about several details about why makoto reacted in such a way it made ren very cautious on what arsene does when ren is busy with something else

“well I hope I can help you”

”but you overreacted beach there because of the principal’s threats weren’t you” 

what ren said shocked makoto and made the others very curious except yusuke who seemed to know this feeling before h

“how did you-“

”word gets around a lot”

”well, yes I was being forced around by the principal who kept me in the dark about a lot of the school’s issues and he sent me to deal with you and the mafia boss”

“well then let’s cut a deal”

”a deal?”

”we need more info on the boss seeing as he won’t tell me his name and then we can take off the load of the students being threatened sounds good?”

”I’ll do one even better and help you guys steer clear of the principal line of sight by saying you guys are clear does that sounds good?”

”glad we came to an agreement”

They shook hands as their agreement has been settled and the take down fo the mafia boss was coming soon

but nothing is ever easy and ren had to deal with the repercussions of running in recklessly without mentioning

* * *

Evening

ann and ren were walking through the streets of Shibuya as the others separated after trade contact info so it was just ren and ann walking together 

ann was looking away from ren with an angry look on her face

”ann are you still mad?”

”hmph!” she still didn’t look his way

” **she’s pretty mad** ”

” _thanks for stating the obvious_ ”

ren then thought up a plan as the ice cream stand that ann always ate at had a limited flavor that ann was dying to try but never got to

”hey look a limited ice cream flavor”

ann didn’t budge

”it’s comes with 2 different toppings and a waffle cone”

ann slightly moved as it was tempting but she stood her ground

“what’s this it’s only available for the month of June”

ren said it in a very appealing tone as she was trying to get ann to break

ann was starting to shake by how tempting it sounded and she was about to break

”I’ll pay for it”

she then looked at him while still pouting “fine”

”gotcha”

after ordering they sat a bench while ann ate her ice cream

ren ordered a milkshake so he drank it while ann was eating

”why are you like this”

”hmm?”

”why do you never worry for own self being”

rem looked to ann who looked at her ice cream as it slowly melted

“why am I feeling this way?”

”ann I-“

”why do you always try to keep us safe yet you always head straight into danger without even telling us you are”

ren couldn’t say anything to defend himself as she was right he had been reckless and he hadn’t thought much of his friends who stood by his side at all times

”I’m sorry I haven’t thought any of that through”

”you promised we would get stronger together yet here I am at my breaking point because I’m scared to lose you”

“I never thought of it like that I’m sorry I worried everyone especially you”

”ren I want you to open up to me why do you not value your life like our lives”

ren then thought as he grasped into the back of his mind

why..

why....

ren’s eyes glowed loss and grief as he didn’t want to say why but he had to if he wanted to complete his side of the promise him and ann made to be stronger together

”I lost someone dear to me before I came into Tokyo i can’t seem to remember how and what happened but I wanted to never feel that pain again so I made sure everyone around me would be safe”

ann started to pull on his cheek as he looked straight at her

”well we can fight for ourselves so you won’t have to protect us got it?” she gave him a smile

”right” ren said while ann still had a hold of his cheek

she let go of his cheek and ren rubbed his cheek

”that stung!”

”then don’t make a stupid mistake got it?”

”right”

after a bit more of ann scolding ren they walked to the station together and said their goodbyes

**_Leblanc_ **

ren entered the cafe and saw sojiro behind the counter waiting for him in an empty cafe

”good you’re back so now I can close up shop”

”I’ll do it for you I need to get my head clear”

”just make you sure you don’t get into trouble”

sojiro left the shop and ren cleaned up the tables, lifted the stools and mopped the floors

a ring and as heard onto his phone and ren picked it up to see a message for him from an unknown number

[U: you got a job to do go to this location and enforce the time on his debt]

[R: but it’s nighttime?]

[U: no excuses otherwise the picture will be leaked and your family will be torn apart]

ren realized how he was going to be used but if he declined he would be sent to jail so he had no choice but to comply

” **so he really did mean it when he said you’d become an enforcer** ”

”do I have to do this”

ren was unwilling to do any of this but he had no choice

he had another notification on his phone from two people the group chat they had made and alibaba but alibaba’s messages were very rare so he checked them out first

[A: how much of an idiot are you?]

”not the time”

[A: don’t care but you’re an idiot however now is my time to shine]

”with what?!”

[A: fufufu I’ll give you his name]

”really?!”

[A: Junya Kaneshiro]

”wait if you knew the name why couldn’t you tell me it first?”

[A: thought it would be cool that and I want to see more of your justice besides being painted near nude and punching a school teacher]

[A: fighting the mafia sounded wayyyy cooler]

”you’re a strange person..wait you saw me being painted?!?!”

ren felt sorta embarrassed knowing that there was someone else who knew about that and it really sucked for him to hear

[A: they’re are a lot of things I found out about you but consider that a treat]

[A: bit in any case have fun dealing with your problems have fun with it]

”by the way how come you’ve been more silent than usual?”

she took a while to respond which ren took notice of

[A: just a little sick that is anyways byeeee]

ren tried to get her to reply further but she didn’t seem to respond to anything

he moved on to the group chat which had a lot of messages already put in as ren hadn’t taken notice immediately

[S: do you know what it means to be an enforcer?]

[Ry: beats me but what are we gonna do now since we don’t know his name]

[M: I’ve been asking around some people in Shibuya and students of shujin who have been getting harassed]

[S: actually I’ve been getting a notice from one in Shinjuku for her blog or something]

[H: really? what for?]

[S: she’s interviewing shujin students who suffered under kamoshida’s harassment]

[M: alright then let’s go]

[Ry: ooh let me go!]

[S: just don’t screw anything up]

[Ry: what about ren and yusuke]

[Y: I don’t have money]

[A: what about me?]

[Ry: you'd stand out too much]

[A: fair anyways ren’s not responding I wonder what has him kept up]

[M: guess I’ll see you soon]

“the last message was only a few minutes ago so they’re probably already there”

“doesn’t hurt for them to know”

[R: hey sorry for not messaging but I found out his name is Junya Kaneshiro]

[R: guys?]

after a couple minutes of no answering ren closed his phone went upstairs to change outfits to a hoodie and a hat he left the shop locking the door behind him

”I can’t believe I’m doing this”

”guess you have no choice”

he walked to the location as it wasn’t far from Leblanc 

he looked at the address and made sure it was correct

” _seems this is the place_ ”

ren took a deep breath before walking up to the door

he started to knock

”hello?”

he knocked again

”helloo?”

the lights were on in the place so they were definitely home

ren started to get a little more aggressive

”your debts are due”

no sounds or movements were heard from inside

he looked around to make sure no one was watching him

he started to loudly bang on the door and yelled the person’s name 

“YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES WILL SUFFER FOR NOT ANSWERING”

immediately a lock could be heard jingling as it was being unlocked

the door swung open to reveal a small teen younger than ren as he looked at him frightened sweating a ton while his eyes screamed fear

”please just give me more time I’ll get your 30,000 just please I need more time”

” **30,000? that’s just as much as what we got for selling that gold medal** ”

”so you took his job offer?”

“yes and I was scammed”

” **for a scared kid he is unreasonably opened about these things** ”

” _he seems way too young for this to happen to him_ ”

”so 30,000 was it?”

”y-yes I’ll get it to you soon I just need more time”

ren went into his pockets and pulled out 30,000 yen from his wallet

”take it..”

”huh?”

”take. it.”

the boy took the money and looked at him with hope in his eyes

”who are you?”

ren turned away but tipped his hat over his hair

”just a normal person helping people out”

ren walked away and the boy stared at him astonished to what just happened to him

” **surprised on how you handled it but I’m glad you did handle it like that** ”

” _that kid was suffering because of one stupid mistake kinda like me_ ”

” **don’t be so tough on yourself** ”

” _well at least I don’t have to be an enforcer for that jerk I’ll teach him a lesson once we get to know his palace_ ”

” **that’s the spirits anyways let go home before we get stopped by police or something** ”

ren walked home back to leblanc and changed clothes to his usual sweats and t shirt and was about to fall asleep when he was hit with a barrage of notifications

[M: wait you found out his name?]

[S: wish you would’ve told us that earlier]

[R: what happened with the reporter?]

[M: she told us the name but she turned out to be a bit much to what we hoped]

[S: good news though we found his name and ren you’ll be getting a new message]

[R: cool? where’s ryuji though didn’t he come with you?]

[S: let’s just say he’s in a better place now]

[R: what’s that supposed to mean?]

[S: oh nothing]

[Ry: ASSHOLES!!]

[R: what happened to you?]

[Ry: they ditched me!]

[M: shouldn’t have came in your school uniform]

[Ry: hey! that does not mean you should ditch me like that!]

[S: anyways how was your happy ending?]

[Ry: SHUT UP!!]

somewhere ren could feel shiho laughing her all while he could only imagine to what she meant by ‘happy ending’

[S: well mission accomplished we now know his name so we can continue the mission]

[R: let’s just talk tomorrow we can deal with this then]

[S: night!]

[M: I’ll see you tomorrow then]

ren closed his phone and closed his eyes as their take down of the mafia boss and ren’s new superior would be swift and full of justice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanted to squeeze Ohya in there as I didn’t want to fully dismiss her character entirely I kinda want to put the side characters in but I’m just gonna squeeze them in when I feel like the time is right


	35. Useless

_**Shibuya** _

the group sat down on some benches waiting for certain people to arrive who are late to the meeting those being makoto and ryuji

makoto walked up a bit surprised 

“is this what you guys always do afterschool?”

”wait for ryuji most of the time, but in the meantime we might as well try to find the palace”

”palace?”

morgana stepped out of haru’s bag

“so then let’s try to come up with what the what and where of the palace we can pull out”

ren pulled out his phone “what are some of your suggestions?”

”let’s try castle again” ann said as it wouldn’t hurt to try old things again

”nothing”

“since he lives in a fortified place what about fortress”

”nope”

”he cares about money so what about a money bath?”

”no”

”wait is the cat talking to you? are you guys ok?” makoto didn’t understand what morgana said but they apparently listened to him

“what about bank”

”hit”

”alright now what does he think is a bank”

”sorry guys!”

they all looked up to see ryuji running over to the group

”what took you so long?”

”well I’m sorry you never said where you guys were so I had to run through All Of Shibuya to get to you”

HIT

”ryuji you’re a genius”

”wait what’d I do?”

”anyways let’s just go into the palace now”

”wait where are we going?” makoto was still left in the dark about the entire situation

all of sudden the world started to turn a different color and makoto held her head in pain

”well you made it”

makoto opened her eyes to see a small cat talking to her which made her scared for a bit

”a m-monster cat!”

hearing the dreaded c word made him tense up again

”IM NOT A CAT!!”

morgana lowered his head in sadness

ann informed makoto about morgana ”that’s the cat that was in haru’s bag”

”wait that voice, ann?”

”that’s right”

”then you’re-“ she went through each member of the group and they each responded with a yeah or a right

”this doesn’t make sense at all though where are we?”

”the mind of Kaneshiro what he thinks of the people do Shibuya”

ren pointed to the atms that were walking around and falling over

”wait these are people”

”it seems this is what he sees out of the people of Shibuya”

”just walking atms...so he just sees everyone as machines that dispense money without any effort”

”very perceptive of you fox”

”wait fox?”

”oh we have code names for when we come in here in case our targets remember us”

”ok but is this really how Kaneshiro views Shibuya”

”pretty much well let’s split up and search around for his palace”

they each split up and interrogated the atms who either sat down and cried or were short circuited and broken beyond repair

they met up again to discuss the situation

”this isn’t good none of them have told us much”

”where even is this bank we’re suppose to be looking for?”

shiho pointed upwards “I think I found it”

they all looked up to see the flying bank cruising around the sky sucking up cash as it moved

“how’re we suppose to get up there?!” ryuji said a bit surprised that their target owns a bank that flies

”mona can you turn into a helicopter?”

”nope, I guess that cognition of cats turning into vans is the extent of it”

”great what do we do now?”

”joker can you climb the walls and then jump onto the bank”

”even with my skills that’s impossible”

they all ran out of ideas and were just about to give up hope when the bank stopped and a road appeared in front of them

”wait for real?!”

”how did this happen?”

”maybe it’s because I’m part of kaneshiro’s group or something”

”right you’re an enforcer...wait did you have to do any work for him?”

”yeah but I gave the poor kid some money to pay for it so at least we don’t have to worry about that”

they all gave a sigh of relief 

“well lets go up”

they started to walk up the road as they go near the bank entrance

”wait if Kaneshiro sees these people as customer and way for him to get money what would that make ren?” makoto had already got a grasp of how the metaverse worked and what having a palace meant

”I'm most likely in his cognition so there might be a me somewhere in her”

they come up to the front of the bank entrance

”by the way what’s with those outfits?” makoto pointed to them wondering why they had such a weird get up

”oh well these are our inner personalities I guess it’s what one would say”

”close enough” morgana didn’t even know either

”so does than mean ann is a...”

ann got immediatly flustered as she knew where her question would’ve pointed to “yes, now let’s move along I don’t want to talk about it”

shiho snickered and the rest moved along inside

ren was the first to enter but it wasn’t anything unusual it was just a huge bank but he took note of the second floor

a guard walked up to him and it startled ren and he pulled out his dagger

”I’m guessing you’re the new guy”

”the new guy?”

” **he means you’re the new worker** ”

”oh uh yeah I am the new guy”

“well follow me the boss wishes to talk to you”

”sure..” ren signaled the other to follow him close behind but not too close to make the other guards notice them

he leads him to a room with a table and several chairs and a large tv

“well this is where the boss will be meeting you in”

”thanks”

the guard left the room and ren stood there by himself

but on top of a shelf he heard some rummaging coming from a vent

”they are way too loud”

ren jumped up and opened the vent and out flew morgana, ann and ryuji

anm stood up angrily and pointed at ryuji

”you idiot you were staring at me weren’t you!”

”no I wasn’t I swear”

”yeah how dare you if it was me I would’ve stared in secrecy” morgana’s comment didn’t make the situation any better

“mona!” ann shook her fist as she was about to pummel the poor kitty

yusuke, haru and shiho helped makoto climb out the vent

“do they always argue?”

”most of the time”

the tv turned on to reveal shadow Kaneshiro who was purple and wore a shiny white suit

”why is he purple?” makoto asked out of curiosity

”don’t ask questions it’ll be too harder to explain” shiho couldn’t wrap why he looked like that either

“so heya boss what’s up?” ren was acting over friendly as to secure a treasure route as fast as possible

”so you’re the new worker well welcome to the Kaneshiro bank”

” _I didn’t expect his shadow would be this over polite_ ”

” **keep on your toes though** ”

” _of course_ ”

”anyways I have a list of those you need to ensure of their debts to”

”cool, by the way what else is there in here”

”there’s the top floor and the bottom floor where we keep all of our money in”

” _I didn’t expect he’d give me all of this info_ ”

”except you are a new worker so you can’t have clearance to it yet”

“well can I at least have some clearance so I can guard the outside at least?”

”sorry that’ll be a no”

”aww come on we’re friends right”

”no, you’re only a new worker and besides you only live in an attic above some low life cafe”

“wait how do you know that”

”our intelligence network is something one shouldn’t mess with but you do have some extraordinary friends as well. including that billionaire daughter of yours what goods have come to me”

”so is that why you made me your enforcer to get even closer to me?”

”of course but go and fulfill your mission before I have to call security to kick you out”

kaneshiro was finished in negotiating with ren

”then I guess our deal is off”

”that treasure of yours is ours!”

”how despicable of you we will not lose!”

“prepare for your takedown”

they all started to prepare for a fight with kaneshiro

kaneshiro laughed “my citadel had the highest security, just try and take you petty theives”

a bunch of guards spawned out of nowhere

”seize them”

the guards charged at them

”makoto step back”

ren charged at them

”arsene!”

” **I got your back partner** ”

the guards were hit with a barrage of curse skills and were immediately followed up by a swift kick to the head and a dagger through the chest

”skull! noir!”

both ryuji and haru jumped and spiked the other two shadows with their weapons

the shadows disappeared but reinforcements kept coming

”there’s no end to them. quick! retreat!”

they all burst through the door and ran back to the entrance

as they headed to the entrance they were stopped by a bunch of guards 

“joker there’s no end to them”

makoto stood in the middle of all of them as she quivered from fear as she didn’t expect this to happen to her

”I have to thank you though for bringing me all of these top prizes”

the turned to face shadow kaneshiro as he slow clapped near them

he looked at the entire group one by one

”the billionaire daughter, the beautiful blonde model, the athletic volleyball star” he then looked at makoto “and the younger sister of the beautiful prosecutor Sae Niijima” he then laughed “to think someone as high guarded as you is as weak and pathetic when surrounded how cute”

”asshole I’ll stop you”

kaneshiro laughed again “well it’s time for your pathetic eyes to witness your friends get slaughter as they say trash belongs in the trash”

” **weakkkkk** ”

” _arsene not the time!_ ”

ren could easily get out of this but with majority and his friends on the line there’s no telling what could happen would he die for his friends or would he escape by himself

“troublesome intruders need to be killed it’s only self defense after all but I guess some petty theives along with their useless friend may have to disappear”

”please” makoto desperately tries to reason with kaneshiro

”what was that you useless girl” he laughed as he flipped his hair “to think such a beautiful lady such as sae would have her sister be her greatest downfall what a shame..”

“...”

”and to think you even got your dear old friend in this mess because your emotions got the best of you, shame”

”...” makoto was starting to really think she was just cannon fotter, just a useless item slowing everyone down

”you really are an idiot”

”huh?”

makoto turned around to see ren walk forward to her

”how many times are you gonna endure that word until you finally realize it”

”y-you're right!” makoto picked her head up in full confidence “it’s time I make myself useful and pick up all that slack”

”tch” kaneshiro didn’t like this back talk

”all I’ve been doing is endure and listen, endure and listen and I’m sick of it! it’s time I turn myself around and make a change for myself”

” **so you’ve decided** ”

”sorry I was so hesitant it’s time I showed everyone who I really am!!”

” **very well our contract shall finally proceed** ”

makoto held her head in pain and she writhed in it 

“ **I am thou, thou art I** ”

” **it’s time you finally found your own justice** ”

”now that I have I can never unsee it”

” **never stray from the path of strife** ”

” **live and bask in you own freedom** ”

a mask formed on makoto’s face

”because it’s time to truly break free from your own self”

makoto ripped off the mask revealing a giant blue light over her

”what is this?” kaneshiro was starting to panic

makoto came out of the light revealing a spiked biker jumpsuit and a bike persona that she was riding on

”badass”

”her persona is a bike?”

the group couldn’t believe what they were seeing even ren was a little shocked

” _I’m kinda jealous_ ”

” **what’s that supposed to mean?!** ”

” _a bike is way cooler than wings_ ”

if arsene could show facial expressions he would be very offended by ren’s comment

”it’s time for me to really cut loose”

ren stepped forward with makoto

”it’s time we showed them what we’re made off”

”let’s do it!”

makoto charged the enemy full throttle knocking them back

ren jumped over her a summoned a persona

”phoenix!”

a golden bird spawned over ren and used nuke skills on the down guards

”raven! panther!”

both shiho and panther used their skills which blasted the shadows away from them

”so you want to defy go ahead then I’ll just kill you-“

ren punched kaneshiro in the face

”that’s what you get for pushing me into a table” he turned to others “let’s bail!”

”how there’s no exit” ryuji seemed to panic a little

”then I’ll make one!” makoto revved her bike and shot through the front door”

”daamn”

”no time let’s follow” morgana changed back into a van and everyone hopped in following makoto’s path of destruction

NOW LEAVING

they reappeared back into the real world and makoto was on one knee breathing rapidly

”jeez that was badass”

”good for you mako-chan you’ve awakened”

”impressing I wish I had a bike” 

“I think pissing her off is off the table”

”she’ll rip your arm off in a heartbeat”

the comments they all made about her were starting to make makoto embarrassed 

“can we not talk about that” she stood up but had to use ren’s shoulder as support

”why am I so exhausted is it because I awakened?”

”basically”

“to think I’d find myself by joining the phantom thieves I was tasked to find out”

”by the way who’s sae?” yusuke asked politely 

“she’s my older sis a young prosecutor also looking for who the phantom thieves’s identities”

”isn’t that bad”

”my dad has been chasing the heart thief for two straight years I think we’re fine”

”wait your dad is a part of the police force?”

”yep I’m surprised he hasn’t shown up yet”

“so I’m guessing we’re safe for now” ryuji was still a bit loud which warranted a slap on the head by shiho

“you're too loud”

”to think I feel this way is it fate?

”it’s only natural someone would want to strive on their own path and not one someone set for them”

yusuke has an idea spark in his head ”I propose we should make her our advisor”

”our what?”

”our advisor to watch over our missions and set out plans”

”wait have you guys been running and gunning this entire time?”

”basically”

”pretty much”

”all the time!”

”who needs plans?”

makoto sighed at their comments

”guess it’s time I make myself useful and help out”

”that’s the spirit”

”so what do we do after this?”

”we plan our attack and secure a route to his treasure and that’ll rewrite his heart and he’ll turn himself in”

”got it so when should we make our move”

”tomorrow we meet up here and move in from there”

“that sounds good”

”yeah we’ll get some rest you seem like you’re about to collapse”

”I’ll be fine”

ren glared at the fact makoto was still using him as support and her legs were shaking

”you’re not fine go home and get some rest”

”ok”

the group broke up and went their separate ways well except that ren had to help escort makoto because she was stumbling and it warranted some glares from ann

after a bit ren went home back to leblanc and sank back into his bed

” **good work as always** ”

”when will it end?”

” **what, do you not want to do this?** ”

”it’s not that but there has to be some type of end to this right?”

” **only time will tell but we’ll see in the coming days** ”

ren changed clothes and slept in his bed while his heart slowly was turning corrupt and was starting to turn darker each and every day slowly but surely


	36. Pushing it

Early morning

ren stood with ann as they waited for the train

ann yawned “trying to balance thief work and school is hard how did you do it?”

”lots of hard training I wasn’t like this when I started”

”maybe I should’ve eaten a crepe before we came here to give me a body of energy

“you’re gonna get fat”

”no I won’t these metaverse trips have been getting me slimmer”

”I guess that’s true but you shouldn’t over look your eating habits”

”don’t worry I still have you to help me train”

”you’re hopeless”

”hey, we’re hopeless” ann said as she laid her head on his shoulder

rem sighed 

“hey you’re too tall crouch for me”

he crouched down and gave a smile to ann

the train came by and they both entered and arrived to school

as ren entered the building a notification buzz came on his phone

[U: go to this address your target has been avoiding his dues]

”what am I a landlord?!”

[R: I’m in school can I postpone this]

[U: no excuses]

[R: that’s not fair though]

[U: then the image shall be leaked]

[R: alright, alright cool just give me a minute]

” **I don’t see the real problem with skipping it for now** ”

” _don’t you remember he knows where I live so I’m not surprised if he knows where I am at this moment_ ”

” **well how are you gonna weasel out of this one** ”

” _there’s only one thing_ ”

Faculty room

”please ms Kawakami can you mark me as present for this moment please!”

ren’s big plan was to bribe ms Kawakami into letting him skip class go thing ms Kawakami was the only one in the faculty room otherwise this scene would be majorly awkward for anyone else in the room 

”why should I do that?”

”it’s a long story”

”well we have time so you can tell me”

ren started to get a bit more hesitant as telling someone you are part of the mafia is quite difficult 

“crap I do I tell this”

”it should be fine you do know she is a maid after all”

“would that be enough?”

”well? what’s the story?”

kawakami was getting impatient 

ren took a deep breath and looked away in embarrassment 

”I’m may have somehow accidentally became a part of the mafia”

ren looked back to see me kawakami had her mouth open as she looked at him in disbelief 

“is that not believable?”

”amamiya-san how did you get involved with the mafia?”

”they kinda bagged me and told me I would be a part of their group”

she sighed as he massages her brow “how are you going to get out of this?”

”I have a plan but I need you to cover for me today”

”alright, but let’s make a deal”

”what’s the deal?”

“ms chouno has been getting all over every teacher about their habits since kamoshida and she’s been very persistent about knowing what I do so I need you to do me a favor and tell her something believable”

”alright?”

”and I kinda need you to request me”

”request what?”

”the service”

ren took that as a joke 

“haha I didn’t quite get that could you say it again”

”I need you to request me as I haven’t been requested as much”

”wait huh?”

”do you want to be covered or not?”

”yes, yes I do, but wouldn’t that be weird since I’m a student”

”then make sure it’s not in the call history so people don’t catch on”

”alright I guess, well anyways I have to thank you”

”just go along now I’ll cover you”

as ren left the room he thanked ms kawakami once more before scrambling on

ms kawakami sighed “I can’t believe I’m doing this with a student”

Lunchtime

ann sat at her desk wondering why ren hadn’t showed up to class 

she got up and went downstairs into the courtyard where she could hear some voices talking to each other

she peeked the corner and shiho, ryuji and haru talking to each other 

”I’m telling you it’s complete bogus how no one has looked at me even though I hang out with ren”

”that’s because you still look and act like a punk”

”hey!” 

“don’t worry ryuji-kun you’ll find love one day”

”at least you believe in me haru”

ryuji looked over and saw ann

”oh heya ann why aren’t you hanging out with ren?”

”I was gonna ask you guys if you’ve seen ren”

they all looked at each other then nodded back at ann

”no I haven’t seen him since yesterday”

”he came in but I haven’t seen him since this morning”

”have you called him?”

”I have but he hasn’t answered”

”I’m not sure what he could be up to”

”you don’t think that kaneshiro has something to do with it” haru started to get worried to what might happen to ren

”do you think they pulled him in or something?”

”I’m not sure but what kind of work is he doing?” shiho said as she sipped on her juice

”he did say he was forcing someone to pay his debts”

”I hope he’s ok”

”ren..” ann couldn’t stop thinking where ren went and how he disappeared all of a sudden and she couldn’t focus in class which resulted in a piece of chalk being thrown at her head

afterschool

the group met outside of school as they didn’t know where ren went

makoto was late due to being student council president so they met outside 

“so are we not meeting in Shibuya or is there something wrong?”

”ren hasn’t showed up in a while and we don’t know where he is”

”shouldn’t we go look for him?”

”I’ll go do that you guys just wait in Shibuya”

”got it I’ll contact yusuke he’s probably waiting for us in Shibuya”

they walked off and ann went to go look for ren

”how am I supposed to find him?”

a buzz came from ann’s phone and she look at who it was

[Al: need some help?]

”alibaba? you come at the right times”

[Al: fufufu it’s just what I do]

”alright well tell me where he is”

after a few seconds she responded

[Al: he’s somewhere in Shinjuku]

”Shinjuku?!

[Al: is that bad? I haven’t been there]

”its like an adult paradise with the clubs there”

[Al: that’s sounds bad]

”well can you tell me where in Shinjuku he is in?”

[Al: okie dokie here it is]

ann got the location, now it was only a matter of time before she gets to Shinjuku 

she arrived at Shinjuku and became her search for the club alibaba sent her

”hey are you sure he’s still here alibaba?”

”alibaba..?”

for some reason she didn’t respond again without letting ann know which confused her wondering what could be happening to her

she searched for the bar that ren was last tracked at and it led her to an underground bar

ann peeked in to see a bunch of maids serving around the shop

”is this a maid cafe? what was he doing here?”

she saw they were cleaning a bunch of glass that was shattered on the floor

”seems he’s not here”

she walked back up out onto the street and two guys walked up to her

”hey cutie what’s someone like you doing here in daylight?”

”piss off”

she tried to walk away but the guy grabbed her arm

”aww come on let’s go before they kick you out of this place at night”

”let go!”

the two guys were about to pull her in but they both were stopped by a guy in a jacket with their hood up 

“heh? who are yo-“

before he could talk he was punched in the face and was knocked back into the other guy

before ann could talk she was picked up in a princess carry and ran off into an alley far from their view

she looked up to who picked her up so see ren sweating and breathing heavily

she could feel his heartbeat rapidly as it was pounding hard almost to the point that ot might fall out of his chest

he peeked out to see if the guys were following to see they weren’t

he set her down onto the ground and took deep breaths to calm himself down

”ren what’re you doing here?”

”that bastard kaneshiro has me doing jobs for him all over Tokyo”

“is that why you’re not in uniform”

”I was but I bought some clothes during it”

he unzipped his jacket to show that he still had the shujin uniform on and he zipped it back up

”well are you ok?” ann was worried if ren was injured in any way

”what about you?”

“I’m fine but are you ok”

she put her hand on his chest to feel his heartbeat which was still beating rapidly not meantion his breathing was barely going down

“I’m fine, let’s just get out of here before we get caught”

”ok...”

ren walked away but ann noticed the way he walked it was sluggish as if he’s been forcing himself to continue going on until his body forced him to collapse

it worried ann to what ren was doing without her and why he’s not making sure his body is taken care of

Bank of gluttony

they came into kaneshiro’s palace and it was the same as usual the bank hadn’t moved and the walkway was still there

the also established makoto’s code name as queen due to her mask and her inner personality

they walked up and took an entrance from under one of the statutes that was laid out on the lawn of the bank

the entered in and snuck past a bunch of guards

they noticed that a few guards were traveling to an elevator that led to the basement

”so I guess the vault to the treasure really is underground” morgana went ahead first due to his small size being barely noticeable 

”he said there was a citadel so maybe there is more than just a vault” ren followed up behind morgana

”we’ll then we have to get clearance though so let’s head upstairs” makoto was laying out the plans for the attack

they stealthy took down shadows one by one which was way easier now that there were 7 people and makoto acted as co leader which made it easier to give out orders

they hit a safe room and decided to camp out

ryuji slouched on a chair “man there’s so many now”

”it’s most likely gonna get harder from here so don’t get tired now”

”but ren where were you?”

”kaneshiro has me doing jobs all over the city”

”you know I think I can do as well as you, you don’t need to push yourself” makoto was genuinely worried for ren’s well being

”it fine I can manage this now let’s move on before we waste any more time”

ren left the room and the rest of the group looked at one another with worried expressions before leaving the room

they kept treading forward taking our guards and other shadows and eventually made it to the security room 

after swiftly taking out the guard they started to evaluate their new situation

”he wasn’t kidding when he said there was heavy security” ryuji stretched his arm as swinging a pipe was starting to tire him out

”at least  we made it this far right joker...joker?”

makoto looked over to ren who was bent forward as he picked up a keycard from the dissipating body

”seems like we have a clue to that room we saw earlier”

”by my calculations that should put us on top of the elevator”

”how’d you know that fox?”

”well it’s above the elevator room is it not?”

”worth a shot”

ren jumped back up on the shelf and went into the vent he came from

they each followed him but ann and shiho were the last in line to go in

“say raven”

”hmm?”

”do you think there’s something wrong with joker”

”now that you say it he does seem a bit odd”

”i think he might be pushing himself too hard”

”have you tried talking to him?”

”he’s so distant as if he doesn’t want anyone to worry”

”guess we’ll deal with that after come on before we get left behind”

they climbed into the vent and threaded forward into the basement eventually hitting a safe room and leaving where they left off

NOW LEAVING

they reappeared back in Shibuya as it was already evening

ren who still had a jacket on took a sigh of relief

”good work everyone”

”ren are leaving?”

”yeah running around has me all sorts of tired so I don’t want to be exhausted for when kaneshiro calls me for one of his stupid requests again” ren innocently smiled and scratched the back of his head

”alright see you..”

”see ya!”

ren joyfully waves his friends goodbye as he walked to the station by himself

after he was no longer seen his friends smiles then into sad frowns

”so I’m guessing we all know something is up with him right?”

”he’s definitely hiding something, ann what happened to him when you went looking for him?”

”he was at a maid cafe in Shinjuku and I think a fight happened?”

”a fight are you sure?” haru grew even more worried for her friend’s well being

”there was glass on the floor when I peeked in so I’m sure if it”

“well what do you think we should do? the guy keeps to himself”

”well as his girlfriend I have tried to get him to talk but he still just keeps to himself and he has barely broken”

ann then remembered what ren had told her a few days back after he was released for kaneshiro 

“ _I lost someone dear to me_... _I never want to feel that pain again_ ”

ann then thought there must’ve been more to ren’s past and she had to get him to budge no matter what

however one person was against the whole operation

”I think we should just back off”

everyone turned to face shiho who had a face is sadness but understood what ren was feeling

”shiho what do you mean”

”we can’t just pry into ren especially after we’ve barely known him for months maybe it’s best for him to open up to us eventually”

”but shiho you saw the guy he was limping” ryuji recreated the way ren was walking which was pretty goofy 

“even so that’s just his nature and there isn’t much we could do about it”

”so do we just leave it be?!”

”that’s not what I mean of course we intervene when he’s doing something overly stupid but I think he might just get angry at us, if we keep going we may just make the situation worse”

ann then remembered what sojiro had told her

” _he’s been through a lot so he may not want to talk about his past_ ”

”I think shiho’s right”

ryuji was shocked by this “ann!”

”his caretaker told me that not even his father could pull anything out of him maybe we should just leave him be...who knows what he might do if we interfere”

ryuji sighed “I guess but let’s just make sure he doesn’t get himself killed”

”of course”

”well i guess I’ll see you tomorrow”

”see ya..”

the group started to split up one after another until it was just ann who sat there thinking to herself as she looked in the sky

”what do I do?”


	37. Coffee cake and iced tea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look I made it to 100k words I did not expect I’d somehow do this kinda surprising to say the least

After school

most of the group was busy with other tasks so they didn’t go into the palace for today however ren didn’t really care if there was anyone with him or not he was taking down kaneshiro and he might as well get a jump starts in the palace

NOW ENTERING

ren entered the palace and started back on the ground 

“ **are you sure this is the best idea?** ”

“it’s fine its not like it’s affecting anyone”

” **oh ren..** ”

ren was marching forward up while arsene looked at him concerned as although no else could see but arsene could see his aura slowly turn dark he didn’t have much concern back then as it wasn’t that big of a problem but it seemed the aura was more present and thicker

” **seems I have to hope for someone to fix him** ”

* * *

**_Ogikubo ramen shop_ **

ryuji stepped into the shop a bit excited to eat after a long day

”is this where you eat with ren after school?”

behind ryuji was yusuke who was observing the wooden interior of the place 

“yeah basically”

they sat down at the stool and started to order

”say ryuji”

”what’s up”

”how long have you known ren?”

”since he joined the school, why?”

”well I feel as if we’re somehow connected to one another as if this was all fate that we somehow got strung in together”

”I don’t know what any of that means” yusuke’s words were too complex for ryuji to understand

yusuke sighed “besides that what do you know of ren?”

”he’s pretty outgoing I’d say, helping people regardless if they’re afraid of him or if they hate him, he’s pretty smart and he has that bod that girls fawn over” the more ryuji thought about it the more he got pissed off as he slammed his hands on the table while the chef gave him his ramen “that damn ren no wonder I’m still single he takes all the girls!!”

yusuke started to eat his ramen “ryuji...this isn’t what I wanted”

ryuji looked at yusuke after he slurped some ramen “what were we talking about again”

yusuke let out a deep breath of frustration as maybe ryuji wasn’t the best person to talk to 

“maybe I should talk to him myself”

ryuji talked while eating some noodles “hey can you pass the salt?”

”here” yusuke passed him the salt

”thanks” ryuji said while he still had noodles in his mouth

yusuke gave another sigh while he opened his chop sticks and started to eat

* * *

  ** _Bank of gluttony_**

ren was dodging attacks left and right and was enjoying the rush he was feeling

“take this!”

ren delivered a final blow using a curse skill while he collected the items the shadow dropped

“ **ren I think you’ve went far enough you need to rest** ”

”I still got some in me”

” **yet you were near collapsing from that fight you were in** ”

ren felt his arm as although he said he was ok he didn’t leave unscathed as the fight left his with a few scraps the largest being on his arm 

the real reason he had a jacket on was to hide the wounds that were on him as he didn’t walk in the cafe with his uniform to raise suspicion but his sweater underneath was ripped and had some hints of red on them

“ **ren it’s time to leave you need to rest, you can continue this when everyone else is here** ”

”fine..”

ren hesitantly agreed and he left the bank

NOW LEAVING

ren reappeared back into the world and stretched his arm

“guess its time to walk around”

ren was starting to walk off back to the station as he had no other business in Shibuya 

“oh hey ren”

ren turned around to see shiho walk up to him and wave at him

“hey shiho what’re you doing here?”

”nothing I was just walking around after I did some stuff”

”what kind of stuff”

”girl stuff, now stop prying”

”fine fine”

“want to get something to eat?”

”sure I could go for something”

”then let us walk!”

shiho cheerfully led the way to a nearby bakery that smelled of fresh baked goods and nice smelling sweets

”didn’t know this place existed”

”ann showed me this place once and it’s worth it for the sweets”

”is that why you sometimes show up late?”

”you’ll see”

shiho started to order some food 

“give me a cinnamon roll and uhh.....give me a melonpan”

shiho squealed as she imagine the sweets

ren laughed as he looked at shiho go into some other land probably full of sweets

”I’ll just take some coffee cake and an ice tea”

”the person behind the counter nodded and started to get the desserts out along with ren’s iced tea

after their desserts came out shiho and ren went to a table and sat down

shiho was enjoying her food..a little too much as she squealed every other bite she took

ren sipped on his iced tea while he took bites out of his coffee cake

he smiled as he inwardly laughed to how shiho’s reacted

”you really are ann’s best friend”

shiho looked at him confused “what do you mean”

”you and ann basically are almost the same person with barely any differences”

”should I take it as a compliment even though you compared me to your girlfriend” shiho snickered 

ren took the paper from his straw balled it up and the put it through his straw and shot it onto shiho’s forehead

”hey! don’t do that!” shiho said as she wiped her forehead

”then don’t mess with me but I guess we can call it even” ren said while giving her a smug look

”touché”

”you know you remind me of one of my friends from Kyoto”

”I do?”

”yeah, she basically is kinda like you she scolded my other friends for being idiots, she acted girly whenever she saw something she liked yet she always kept a calm composure”

”kinda sounds like me”

“yeah, my friends were fun”

”I’m guessing they were wild just like you”

”yeah sort of”

”but ren how many friends did you have back in your hometown?” shiho didn’t want to drive ren to open up so she decided to naturally ease it in

“I had f-three friends in Kyoto” ren stumbled on the on the question but shiho didn’t noticed and just glossed over it

” **ren you should just open up with it there’s not point in hiding** ”

ren didn’t reply to what arsene said he didn’t even react to what he said which made arsene sigh out of frustration from ren’s stubbornness

” **running away isn’t going to solve anything** ”

arsene was again ignored by ren and he was tired of it 

arsene flew away from ren to ren’s delight as he didn’t want to bring down the mood 

“say ren do you have any siblings?”

”what’s with the personal questions?”

”it’s fine they’re not too revealing unless you’re hiding some kind of burning love for your sist-“

ren spitballed another piece of paper at shiho again for even trying to mention anything like that

ren sighed while shiho wiped her head with a napkin

”I have a sister and theirs really it”

“as sister?”

“yeah, she’s pretty energetic even though she’s sick”

”she’s sick?”

”she’s had a problem with her heart so she stays out of doing sports or running long distances”

”that sucks”

”yeah, but she’s been doing fine as I never wanted to see her worry she might accidentally stress herself out if she isn’t too careful”

”so you really cared for your sister”

”yeah” ren chuckled “maybe it’s a weakness of mine”

shiho laughed along with him “maybe”

the table was silent as ren drank the rest of his iced tea

”say ren do you miss your life in Kyoto”

that comment made ren stop drinking as he put down his drink and thought to himself “I-i haven’t thought about that..”

”well it’s ok if you don’t have an answer not all of us have an answer to things” shiho didn’t wish to force ren as he seems like he’d be stuck I between himself if he was conflicted with himself”

”to be honest if I had to think I really do miss Kyoto but format reasons I’d like to stay here a bit more”

”you really do?”

”you guys are basically always there that and maybe I can finally figure out what the metaverse is”

”yeah that’s weird though but ren”

”yeah?”

”how’s it going with the whole kaneshiro thing?”

”we’ll he might try to get me more involved and maybe drag in you guys as servants or slaves”

shiho sighed from irritation “of course he’d want us to be his slaves but at least we can stop him now”

”yep and now that there’s more of us we can do this more efficiently hopefully without any arguing between you guys”

”I’m not the one who’s starts those how can blame me!”

”I know but you still join in and give your two cents so you do make our missions slower”

”hmph!” shiho didn’t believe she’d done anything to stop the team from moving

”well I think we should go I already ate my desserts”

”same here”

”I’d say otherwise” ren signaled to shiho by pointing at his face as there was a few crumbs that shiho had left from eating her foood

shiho embarrassingly scrubbed the crumbs off “well anyways thanks for coming with I’ll see you tomorrow”

they both left the store and went their separate ways

* * *

**_Clubhouse somewhere near the backend of Shibuya_ **

on a sofa sat kaneshiro as he sipped on a glass of wine while two girls were holding each of his arms

up stepped a large guard

”sir I have retrieved the target”

kaneshiro looked to his right arm which held a motionless body as it was held by his shirt collar

the guard dropped him on the floor

”if you excuse me”

the guard left the room as kaneshiro stood up and walked to the body

the body moaned in pain as he was in a lot of pain from being beaten and scraped

kaneshiro held his chin so that he could look at him eye to eye

”boss....why....” the guy talked but it was very weak as if he hadn’t had time to recover 

“you defied me, so I had someone take care of you” the guy failed at his mission to solicit children into their business and was nearly caught and he also didn’t follow orders the day before

”you...sent the....kid?” kaneshiro had sent someone over to take care of the guy but he didn’t seem to expect this to happen to him

”to think he’d leave you like this” kaneshiro laughed as he was very impressed to the guy that had stepped on his door step

“boss...I can...redeem myself...just..give me...one more chance.....please” the guy said very weakly as he was near blacking out 

“sorry but I can’t accept weaklings like you” he let go of his head as it dropped to the floor with a thud

kaneshiro was about to turn away when his foot is grabbed by the guy on the floor

”please...please...I won’t let you down...just give me another shot” the guy was getting desperate as he wanted to not be let go as it meant life or death of he was let go

kaneshiro kicked him hard in the nose as he let go of his foot “rotting bastard, don’t you dare even think you can come back when you try and pull something like that you absolute scum”

kaneshiro kept kicking the guy in the stomach as he curled into a ball

”guards!” kaneshiro snapped his fingers and two large guards picked up the guy by his arms 

“i think it’s time to let him go”

the guy realized what was about to happen to him and decided to make a desperate move to save himself 

“please sir! don’t do this please!”

kaneshiro has his back turned to him

”trash like you doesn’t deserve forgiveness”

”PLEASE!!” The guy knew he wasn’t getting anywhere with kaneshiro and decided to make one last ditch effort to survive by trying to break free of their grip which resulted in him being punched and knocked out

”take him somewhere near his apartment so they don’t catch on to us when you’re done with him”

the guards nodded as they took him to a back room nearby

kaneshiro walked back to the sofa as he went back to being coddled by two women as he sipped his wine 

the two women giggled as they asked kaneshiro for expensive items 

“once you finish you can ask”

a gunshot could be heard somewhere from another room signaling that he’d been taken care of

the women look at the door concerned

”don’t mind them they’re not doing anything important”

kaneshiro laughed as he looked at his new sights for more riches

he threw a dart at a dartboard which had a photo of the CEO of Okumura foods Kanikuzu Okumura on it as his sights were set he’d go from millionaire to billionaire and possibly even more than that even got his way

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for kaneshiro to interact for with ren and force his ways onto him  
> And ren isn’t going to open himself for reasons he couldn’t tell you


	38. Past experiences

Bank of gluttony

the gang were taking out more shadows as they descended further down the bank

after they took out some shadows 

“seems most of this place is empty” ryuji said as they walked through empty hallways some filled with cameras that’s weren’t even on

”you’re right the security is getting less secure, are you sure the treasure should be down here?” makoto was doubting herself

“of course it is, i can sense it, right joker?” mona looked to ren who acting a bit strange as he innocently smiled and didn’t act like usual

ren’s usual metaverse self was always ‘stay on alert’, ‘keep on your toes’ and ‘try not to shoot me raven for the 5th time already’ yet ren had a calm expression as if he had no worry for the world

”joker? are you ok?”

ren snapped out of his train of thought and looked at mona

”yeah I’m fine, what’s up?”

”you seem pretty calm so far”

”well there isn’t any enemies from what I can tell so I don’t have to be fully on guard”

”alright”

the walked on to the end of the hallway to see a power box smashed in

”this power box was smashed in?” makoto said confused

”it was hit with a great amount of force” yusuke looked a bit closer to the bashed power box “seems to be a male’s size”

”fox, you can tell what kind of person hit it?” ann said a little creeped out by yusuke’s eccentricity 

”well yes it’s not that hard”

“a very interesting ability fox” haru was very intrigued by yusuke’s eccentricity

”why thank you noir”

”anyways let keep going before the guards start appearing again” 

they walked on further to find working cameras that showed light

”these ones are working fine” 

ryuji was about to mistakenly walked into the light when he was stopped by ren

”skull, you’re not supposed to step into the spotlight it’s gonna alert the guards”

”how?”

”skull you are useless” morgana then lectured the group about the cameras and other equipment to watch out for 

“guys you can just turn the thing off by smashing the power box”

they looked at ren who was avoiding the camera lines

”well let’s follow his lead” morgana marched forward with the other following close behind while ren was dodging all the cameras

”sometimes I hate how flashy he can be” shiho said as she looked on to ren who was stylishly dodging and jumping over shadows while dodging cameras

after some fighting the made it further down to a vault area

“seems we made it to the vault”

”so what should we do now joker” makoto said waiting for ren’s word

”let’s pick this up tomorrow, I think we’ve made a lot of progress today”

”then let’s go”

NOW LEAVING

tehy all reappeared back into the real world safe and sound

until ren got a message in his phone

[U: come to the alleyway next to the beef bowl shop I wish to have a talk with you]

”a talk?”

he showed the message to his friends

”ren are you sure you have to do this?” ann was worried as kaneshiro was unpredictable with what he might do to ren and she didn’t want him to get hurt in the midst of all of this

”considering how he has me running all over the place it shouldn’t be anything bad”

”just stay in your toes who knows what he might do” morgana said warning ren

”it’ll be fine but I’ll keep you up to date soon”

ren walked off to he location where he was told to meet

”but there’s no one-ghh” 

again ren was bagged and shoved into a vehicle under his will

a couple minutes passed by and ren could hear the car moving on the highway

” _arsene report!_ ”

” **you’re bagged, tied and stuck in a car** ”

” _great..anyway out?_ ”

” **nope** ”

” _do you know who’s taking me to places_ ”

” **some driver, looks like one of his goons** ”

” _what about where I’m going?_ ”

” **the same club kaneshiro met you in last time** ”

” _great.._ ”

after a few more minutes of driving they finally made it to the club 

ren was then shoved inside by the goon

”I can walk you know” ren said while the bag was still on him

”just shut up and walk”

after that ren’s bag was taken off over his head as he saw kaneshiro at the same couch again but this time there wasn’t a girl next to time it was just kaneshiro sipping his wine

”well then I’ll be off boss”

the goon left the room so it was just ren and kaneshiro

“well then take a seat”

kaneshiro pointed to the end of the sofa

”sure..”

ren walked over and sat at the couch

”so why have you brought me here?”

”because I need to have a talk with you”

”what’s it about?”

”well first here’s your pay”

kaneshiro threw a wad of cash to ren and ren inspected it as it was only filled with 10,000 ¥ notes 

“h-how much is in here?”

”300,000”

ren couldn’t believe he was holding so much money in his hand but he knew what kaneshiro was about to do but he couldn’t be bribed so easily with cash

“well now that you have this cash you can now spoil your foreign girlfriend, but I want to ask another favor for you”

” _wait foreign girlfriend? he knows about ann?_ ”

” **seems his intelligence network really is no joke, it could even be comparable to alibaba** ”

“what’s the other favor?”

”I know you are acquaintances with Okumura’s daughter you know the guy who owns Big Bang burger and other fast food chains across the country”

”what’re you nodding to?”

ren was hoping kaneshiro wasn’t going to go down the path he felt kaneshiro was going to

”well I want you to bribe her into blaming a crime on her father but we cover for him and at the same time black mail him” he started to laugh “just think about it you and me conquering Tokyo all on our own!”

ren was smiling but he was inwardly fuming to the point to where he could boil over in any second from anger

a weakness and a flaw about ren was that when he got angry it was hard for him to calm down and right now he was on his breaking point

” **ren calm down you can’t let your anger take over** ”

” _right...I’m gonna try_ ”

ren was using all of will willpower to not attack kaneshiro as he rambled on

“but it’s all up to you unless I have to send a message to the police and that probation you’re under will put you under some intense heat”

ren’s anger was overflowing as he was gritting his teeth to kaneshiro who had a smug smile the whole time as he wasn’t gonna share anything with ren

”fine...”

“good boy now get out of here before I have to force you”

ren stood up and was about to walk out the room when kaneshiro had one last notice to ren

”by the way if you don’t do this by next Sunday I won’t hesitate to release the photos to the police and force my way through your friends..especially that blonde one”

ren really wanted to turn around and punch kaneshiro until that smile would go away from kaneshiro’s face but he had to keep calm or else he’d fall exactly into kaneshiro’s hands

ren left the club and started to release his rage

”THAT DAMN ASSHOLE!!”

ren punched the wall of the club which made him recoil his fist in pain

” **ren you have to stay calm he’s playing with you you have to stay calm and look at your situation you are almost done with his palace into a little more and he can turn himself over** ”

”I KNOW THAT DAMNIT!!” ren’s anger was really starting to boil “JUST THINKING HOW HE HAD ME LIKE I WAS CLAY IN HIS MAKING ME DO HIS BIDDING!”

arsene knew this anger that was protruding out of ren as if ren was all alone again fighting with only himself on his side

” **ren you can’t lose yourself after you’ve come so far plus you’ve become so strong since then now let’s go and take his ass out** ”

”right!”

” **you can show him what you’re made of soon** ”

”who knows maybe I can finally punch him again”

arsene laughed “ **that’s the spirit** ”

ren walked away with arsene following behind him

arsene thought to himself as ren had changed a lot since when he first started

* * *

 2 and half years ago

ren was in his metaverse form standing over a man who was on his knees crying

they were in a mansion type area that was slowly burning down as the place was set on fire

the man on his knees presumably the palace owner sat there as he talked with regret and sadness in his voice

”to think I’ve caused so much pain in others and to think I killed someone dear to you”

ren aimed his pistol at him and spoke precisely and venomously

”now you get to suffer the result of your punishments”

before ren could press on the trigger arsene blocked his path

” **ren you can’t do this** ”

”why..he’s right there damn it”

” **killing him won’t bring her back nor help you feel justice in getting revenege** ”

ren’s hand was shaking as he was on the fence about the situation and as his finger was over the trigger one press away from ending the poor man who was repenting for the pain he brought

”but..he’s right there”

” **he has to relieve his punishments in the real world** ”

ren put his hand down “fine..”

arsene noticed tears coming out from ren’s eyes

ren walked over to the man and looked at him

”you’re gonna confess to every crime you’ve committed including the death of my friend”

”I see...will then can I really fix myself”

”I don’t know but only you can tell that yourself”

”then so be it”

ren turned away and was about to walk out when he heard his voice again

”thank you..” 

ren stopped on his path and looked back at the man who was smiling not out of envy or joy but about of sincerity and hopefulness

”knowing you exist and opened my eyes to what I’ve been doing I hope you change the lives of others and make sure no one else dies die to someone else’s greed and selfishness”

ren was shocked to know that someone so heartless had such internal compassion and belief for one person

”I lost someone else dear to me maybe that’s why I changed but seeing you changed me maybe I can finally become someone I wanted to be...thank you”

he disappeared into a black mist while ren stood there soaking in all that he said

ren left there without saying a word as the palace crumbled

NOW LEAVING, THANK YOU FOR YOUR HARD WORK

arsene looked over to ren who had the same confused look and shock

” **you did good kid, now let’s go before we’re caught** ”

ren hadn’t said a word but followed arsene’s lead silently

* * *

 arsene saw the same emotions ren had emitted back then turn up now but ren was different yet he was still the same naive kid arsene grew to know

” **you really haven’t changed** ”

arsene sighed as he talked low enough so that ren couldn’t hear him

” **but I can only hope..** ”

arsene still saw ren’s wavering dark aura as it was slowly going weaker and weaker 

arsene chuckled “ **or maybe I can help** ”

” **ren’s gonna have to learn himself but I can guess i can help him here or there** ”

arsene flew above ren as he still saw the same kid who had only vengeance on his mind turn into someone who fights for others and he respected him for that


	39. The Citadel

_**After school** _

the group had all met up at the diner after school as ren wanted to discuss what happened when he met kaneshiro there

“THAT RAT BASTARD!” ryuji slammed his fist on the diner table

”ryuji not so loud” shiho scolded ryuji as other people started to look at them odd

“but shiho didn’t you hear that shit just hearing it makes me wanna pummel him even more”

”mona, how far have we made it in the palace” makoto said as mona peeked out of haru’s bag

“about half way we just need to find a way to open that vault and we could be two or three trips away from our end goal”

”perfect, I’m not wasting any time taking him down” ren was especially angry about kaneshiro for threatening him

ann shoved a piece of pancake she ordered into ren’s mouth

”what did I tell you we can fight for ourselves”

after ren chewed and swallowed the pancake he looked to haru who seemed to be the most effected by this

”haru are you ok?”

haru snapped our of her train of thought and gave a smile to ren

”I’m fine thank you for asking”

”haru it’s ok to talk to us we’re your friends” makoto said as she tried to comfort haru

”it’s just although my father has been pretty distant from me after my mother died, I can’t do something like that to him I still care for him a lot”

”well do you resent your father in a way?” yusuke was very curious about haru response to his question 

“I don’t he is still my father and he was a good man before my mother’s death so I do believe there is some good in him still”

”I see, sorry if my question was too personal”

”it’s ok I understand since madarame was like a father to you yet he treated you so poorly”

the mood went all the way down as no one knew what to say

after a bit more of silence ren broke it

“well sitting around isn’t going to help anyone” ren stood up from his seat “let’s show kaneshiro what happens if you mess with us

”right!”

they left the diner after paying and went back to Shibuya and entered the palace

* * *

_**Bank of gluttony** _

they went back and saw 2 large guards in the room above the closed vault

makoto looked at the big guards a bit hesitant to move forward

”alright I think we need a plan to take out these guards”

”there’s that control room we saw above us maybe we can lead them into there and-“

shiho was cut off as ren without hesitation boosted his speed and attack and zoomed in the room charging both the shadows head on

”joker wait!”

it was too late as ren had alright charged in kicking one of the guards and knocking him to the ground

”hey, you’re not suppose to be here!”

the other shadow readied his weapon to strike ren but the attack was bounced back at him leaving him wide open

ren summoned two personas to strike the shadow down in a fiery flames 

the other shadow got up only to be stabbed by ren’s dagger as he rushed him without second thought

”who...are you...”

the shadow fell down and turned into mist and he left a keycard on the floor from where he stood

”you pest!!”

the other shadow wasn’t downed and he charged ren and was about to strike him

ren simply turned around and dodged his attack and finished the shadow off by shooting him in the head

the shadow slowly fell over and turned into mist and left another keycard lying on the ground

the group who saw all of this happen looked at ren and the remains of the guards wide eyed 

“holy..crap” ryuji was shivering from the display

”is this what happens when he gets serious?” makoto was the strongest out of all of them but what ren did couldn’t even be compared to strength alone

”I don’t think he has gotten serious” out of all their encounters in the metaverse ren hadn’t gotten serious like this

”to think he could pull something like that easily” mona saw how their differences in skill level were more apart than he imagined and what he wanted to believe

ren put away his dagger and pistol stylishly and picked up the two cards that the guards had left over

”seems they had some keycards..maybe this could open the vault”

ren casually walked past the group ignoring their shocked expressions

he turned around to look at the group with an innocent smile

”you guys coming? I can’t do it by myself”

ren turned back around and started to walk back to the vault area

leaving the group to stand there trying to know what happened

they couldn’t formulate any words so they just went along with ren

after they stuck both of the keycards in the vault opened

”good work, everyone let’s keep going”

ren walked forward with everyone else behind him as they basked in the futuristic and sleek design of the vault as bills and bills fell from the top of the vault into the ground which held all of the cash

”how deep do you think the bottom is” mona said as he looked over the edge

”millions, who knows maybe even a billion”

”this is crazy, just think of all the noodles I could buy” ryuji again was imagining all of the ramen he could buy with this much cash

“let’s just get a move on and not talk about ramen skull” makoto had to shove ryuji along before he could imagine anything else

they went forward taking out guards and avoiding cameras 

they made it down into an area where they saw kaneshiro talking to one of the guards who looked like the ones that ren took out

“joker, how should we do this?”

”face him head on!”

ren jumped down down in order to meet kaneshiro

makoto sighed “is this the only way we can meet with him easy”

”who cares it’s go time!” ryuji followed ren’s lead and went down as well

”guess we have to”

the rest followed suit 

kaneshiro looked at the group a bit surprised and nervous 

“h-how did you get here”

ren pulled out his dagger and pointed at him while smirking “the same way you did except we took out your guards and you’re gonna be next soon enough”

kaneshiro gritted his teeth but then regain his composure and started to walk off

he snapped his fingers and a few more guards showed up

”take them out and make sure they’re dead or else I’ll kill you”

kaneshiro walked off and the guards marched forward ready to take them out

the fighting ended with all of the shadows turning back into mist

”shit, where’d he go?”

ren looked around and saw only a notebook on the ground

he picked it up and kept it as it seemed important 

he turned around to his friends

”you guys alright?”

he saw ryuji, yusuke, haru and makoto being healed by ann, mona and shiho

”just a little scratch” ryuji said as he winced in pain

ren sighed and threw something to ryuji

he caught it and looked at it

”what’s this?”

”some medicine I’ve had in case something like this happened”

ryuji took it and immediately stood up reenergized as if he hadn’t fought at all

“what is this stuff?”

ryuji looked at ren waiting for an answer

”some medicine I picked up, anyways let’s move forward”

ren walked forward to what seemed to be an elevator

“mona what’s our status right now”

“we’re past halfway this should be the final stretch before we see the treasure”

”good I don’t want to have to do any more work for that scumbag”

after they finished healing eachother they walked inside the elevator

”stay on your toes guys, we don’t know what’ll be past this door”

everyone nodded

ann went a bit close to ren

”make sure you worry for yourself, you seem to be stressing yourself too much”

ren looked to ann who had a smile on her face and he looked away embarrassed 

ren hadn’t been worrying for himself as he’s been using costly spells and over taxing his personas this entire time and ann saw through him

they went into the elevator and went down 

as they went down they saw what the true vault looked like

”what is this place” ryuji said as he looked at the enormous amounts of safes 

“it’ll take hours just to search through these safes” 

makoto recognized the pattern the safes were making 

“say joker do you know what these patterns make?”

”a lock it seems the center must hold the real treasure so we should just head for that”

”precisely”

“well then let’s find out how to get to the middle”

* * *

  ** _Kaneshiro’s clubhouse_**

kaneshiro sat at his couch enjoying the girls he sat with as he spoiled them

a guard walks into the room interrupting his little session

”what do you want?”

”someone wishes to see you”

”who cares it’s not anyone I want to meet with”

”boss, it’s really important”

kaneshiro sighed “fine let’s him in”

the guard left the room and came back

”here he is boss, well I’ll be leaving the room”

the guy entered the room and kaneshiro nearly choked on his own spit

”s-sir what do you want?” kaneshiro was really spooked by his presence and talked really nervously

”so then I’ve heard of this new guy you got”

”y-yeah” kaneshiro signaled for the girls to go away so that he could have a 1 on 1 chat with him

”I’m just saying he’s a dangerous being and you should dispose of him at once”

”what do you mean?”

”let’s just say me and him are equals, no more like black and white, yin and yang, red and blue”

kaneshiro gulped as the guy paced around the room

”lovely place you got, it be a shame if he were to be your downfall. after all you do owe someone some heavy debts”

”I know I’ve been doing all I can”

he chuckled “how nice, but you haven’t been doing enough”

“then what should I do?” kaneshiro said desperately only to stay in this guy’s good graces

”dispose of him now otherwise it'll be the last decision you will ever make”

the way he said it made kaneshiro shudder

”well I hope I see you again”

”yes, I’ll keep in touch akechi-san”

akechi chuckled as he eyed kaneshiro which made kaneshiro even more nervous

”you call me akechi even after you just called me sir” 

”s-sir”

akechi straightened his tie “well have fun dealing with him I’ll be excusing myself out”

akechi left the room and kaneshiro lost his composure

”shit, shit shit!”

”guard!!” kaneshiro aggressively snapped his fingers as he knew he was screwed

the guard came into the room

”sir!”

”change of plans we’re not dealing with that billionaire anymore, we’re dealing with that brat this instant”

”what should I do?”

”call him in tomorrow it’s time we deal with him now”

”on it sir”

the guard left the room and kaneshiro tried to calm himself down

”shit I’m utterly screwed”

* * *

  ** _Shibuya_**

the group reappeared more exhausted than ever

”jeez we’re so close to finished” ryuji said as he stretched his arms

”we can’t be hasty ryuji, after all you were the most hurt out of all of us” yusuke bluntly said 

”shush yusuke we have to do this quickly in order to save ann” morgana said 

ann was offended by that comment as she was usually the one who needed saving

”what do you mean save?”

”saving your chastity” shiho said as she snickered while saying it

”shiho!” 

”what? we have to save it so ren could have it” shiho said it sarcastically but she couldn’t help but giggle while saying it

”that’s not..” ann got fully flustered and she couldn’t find any words to defend herself with

”ren you’re such a lucky guy” ryuji went with shiho’s plan as he laid his arm over ren’s shoulder

”get off of me”

ren wasn’t any better as he was red from being teased and he tried to look away

he looked at haru’s bag where morgana was peeking out and eyeing him down with pure jealousy and hate in his eyes

“I mean you got ann and she’s cool and all but you gotta tip toe on that intense personality” ryuji whispered

but he soon realized what he said as it may have been a bit louder than he wanted it to be 

he looked over to ann as she cracked her knuckles ready to teach ryuji what happens when he doesn’t keep his mouth shut

”well guys guess I have to scram-“

ryuji tried walking away but ren held him back

”wow ryuji! you’re such a lucky guy!” ren said in the same sarcastic tone ryuji did to him

”I’ve effed up haven’t I?”

”more than you think”

”ryuji you really can’t make wise decisions can you?” yusuke was dissaproving of ryuji’s choices 

ann slowly walked forward and ryuji screamed before he got his deserved justice

shiho got a little nervous as she saw ryuj’s life and soul start to fade away

”welp I gotta go help my parents so see ya!”

shiho ran away before ann could switch targets to her

makoto looked at haru who was giggling to herself

”is this what always happens?”

”yep! but it’s peaceful this way”

”I guess so”

they ended the day there as they were one last trip before they could finally send the calling card and take down kaneshiro

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright seeing as school for me will finally start in about a week and my time on working on chapters is about to be cut in half I’m gonna try to have a consistent schedule of at least 3 days the chapters will be apart from each other which is a reasonable time for me to write as I also need to write in advance so I can keep a clear story as I’ve been rewriting chapters for a bit now but I have a clear head on where I want to take this but who knows maybe I’ll break the schedule and upload earlier if the chapter isn’t story based
> 
>  
> 
> I have some big plans for the story which will come later in time so stay tuned until I write them unless I tinker with them a bit too much


	40. Ambush

Shibuya

the group met up and were just about ready to head into kaneshiro’s palace once more to find the treasure finally

”alright guys this may be the last trip before we send the calling card” morgana said as he looked at the group from the bench he sat at

”good I don’t want to deal with him anymo-“

ren got a notification on his phone 

[U: I want to talk so meet me quickly]

”ren are you alright?”

[R: why now?]

[U: I said now so meet me now]

ren put away his phone and sighed

”go without me, we’re almost done anyway so you shouldn’t have that much trouble”

“ren are you sure?” ann worried he might get himself in deep trouble

”yep! and if I don’t come back in about 20 minutes makoto is in charge”

”why is she in charge?” ryuji was annoyed by this decision

”because she’s the advisor and could kick your ass in 17 different ways”

“good point”

”anyways I’ll be stuck in there longer if you keep me here so I’ll see you soon”

ren reassured it wasn’t anything kaneshiro wanted as it might be a new set of demands

or so he hoped

ren made it back to the alleyway where he was suppose to meet the driver

no one arrived

ran stood there waiting for a few seconds when a car pulled up near the end of the alleyway

”guess it’s my ride”

” **surprised you weren’t bagged** ”

”me too..seems fishy”

ren entered the car and immediately started to talk with the goon

”so what does kaneshiro want this time?”

the goon didn’t talk as if he was afraid of what would happen if he did

ren picked up on it immediately and had a general thought of what was happening

”hey are you alright?”

the goon looked away from him as his teeth shuddered

“kaneshiro has you not talking because he has your family or your life in his hands”

the goon finally broke although he spoke lightly and softly

”he’s gonna g-g-get rid of you..”

”get rid of me?”

“he spoke to him and then kaneshiro said he’d kill you”

“who?”

“I can’t say unless I want to be a dead man”

“then what’s waiting for me?”

“I-I-I don’t know”

his hands were shaking as he held the steering wheel

“can you tell anything more?”

“n-n-no”

the goon was shaking and quivering in fear

seemed ren couldn’t get anymore info out of him as he was too nervous that ren worried that he may have a full mental breakdown if he kept pressing on

” _arsene any advice?_ ”

“ **leave now, we can deal with him later** ”

” _I can’t who knows what might happen to him if I didn’t come_ ”

” **ren you moron don’t do that we shouldn’t care for this person he could just drive away and we can save him once we send the calling card** ”

” _who knows his family might be under hostage so I can’t do something like that_ ”

” **this isn’t worth it you shouldn’t go with this plan** ”

” _he doesn’t know about the phantom thieves so there’s no reason I should just leave now_ ”

” **it doesn’t matter** ”

” _no, I can’t let some innocent person die just because I didn’t come_ ”

” **ren! you idiot you can’t do this** ”

” _he might release that photo of me_ ”

” **yeah but..** ”

arsene couldn’t think of anymore reasons for ren to not bail now

” _it’s fine, I can find a way out of this_ ”

arsene sighed “ **you’d better** ”

the car ride continued on ren formulated his plan to stop kaneshiro

it started to rain which made ren a bit more anxious if his plan would work

they arrived at the club and got out of the car

the goon shivered as he talked to ren “good luck and I’m sorry for doing this”

ren simply smirked “you’ll be safe soon just worry for yourself and get out of here”

the goon looked at ren confused as he saw ren enter the club

something that ren never saw was the lobby of the club as he was always bagged in there

he saw all of the goons who gave ren the stink eye as they drank but ren could tell some of them had weapons as they were terrible at trying to conceal them

he walked into the room where kaneshiro was as he sat there no wine, no women, no other goons near him it was just him with his hand holding his chin 

“so you wanted to see me?”

”yes...have a seat”

”nah I think I’m fine standing”

”fine” kaneshiro reluctantly allowed him to stand as he wasn’t gonna be in his sight lines anymore so he didn’t really care

“so what do you want from me?”

”well I’m gonna have to let you go”

”so I’m free?”

”yeah..free from our hands”

suddenly two guards bust into the room and grab ren by his arms

”but you’re not coming out of here alive”

ren started to struggle against the two guards but get punched and kicked into submission

ren coughed for air as kaneshiro ordered the guards to take him out back

ren was helplessly dragged to another room

” **ren! stay awake you can’t falter now** ”

” _I..know that.._ ”

ren was struggling but he was still conscious as he wasn’t kicked that hard although he was struggling to breath

”just set him down here”

ren was dropped onto the floor and ren examined his surroundings as he was dropped in the right position to see the two goons and the room

he was in a small back room where there was pipes al around seemed to be a breaker room where the power and other such things were in

he looked over to the two goons who seemed to be tinkering with something 

“no you idiot you ain’t loading it properly”

”I am! I don’t need you to shove your hands while I do it!”

they were both arguing something

” _arsene am I close enough to them_ ”

” **perfect length for a kick** ”

ren smirked “ _perfect_ ”

luckily they weren’t bright enough to tie ren up with rope as they thought it was gonna be an easy job

ren swing his leg sweeping the goon with the gun in his hand off of his feet dropping the weapon in the process

ren shot up and punched the other goon in the stomach knocking him down

the other goon tried to stand but he was also met with the same fate

both of them ended up being knocked out as ren punched them hard enough for them to not get up anymore

ren stood up and dusted himself off

” **hey ren why don’t you pick up the weapon** ”

ren looked at the semi loaded gun and considered wielding it 

” _I can’t, it doesn’t feel right to me_ ”

” **suit yourself** ”

ren left the room and it seemed the back room had a separate hallway to that room

he slowly walked in the hallway to see it led to the main lobby where there was several goons just chilling out in there

“ _this seems a bit too familiar_ ”

” **what are you planning?**

ren smirked ” _I have an idea_ ”

ren went back into the breaker room 

he ran up and gave the power box a big boot right onto it shutting off all of the lights in the club

” **you could’ve just turned the power off** ”

” _not as fun and it feels right this way_ ”

luckily ren could see clearly in the dark with his third eye and he could sneak by all of the goons

ren slowly creeped the door open to the break room and saw all of the goons walking around trying to find a source of light

ren started to crawl to make the least amount of noise as he avoided the goons

as he did he occasionally knocked some glasses down to distract the goons as he went near the door

” **that ability is way too handy** ”

” _too bad I can’t see their full silhouettes_ ”

“ **what really matters is that you get out of there** ”

ren was only halfway to the door but he saw some of the goons go into the back room

” **they’re starting to use flashlights watch out** ”

ren ducked behind a sofa as a goon used the flashlight on his phone

”hey who spilled the drinks!?”

the goon seemed angry that some of the drinks were spilled

”did you spill it!?”

he looked to some other goon and pointed at him

”it was you who spilled it wasn’t it?”

”me? I didn’t drop nothing!”

“I know you dropped it!”

the goon walked up to him and started to wrestle with him

the two goons started to wrestle and some other goons tried to break it up

” **quick ren now’s your chance** ”

ren quickly hustled to the door but hides behind another sofa as he hears kaneshiro yelling at a goon

”you let him get away!?”

”sorry boss he slipped by”

”well he hasn't gone far so search this damn place otherwise YOU’RE FIRED!”

”yes sir!”

the goons were still looking for ren but while they were ren slipped through the door when he had the chance

as soon as he was out the door he started to sprint his way away from the club

” _arsene am I being chased?_ ”

” **no, but that driver is getting a heckling** ”

ren immediately stopped as jogged back

” **ren what are you doing?** ”

” _making sure he’s ok_ ”

” **but ren that’s..arghh never mind** ”

arsene gave up on trying to stop ren’s selflessness as ren had already set his sights on helping him

ren went back and peeked over to see two goons heckling the guy that drove ren to the club

” _did he just not go on his merry way?_ ”

 **”I think he thought he would get another task to do** ”

ren sighed “ _guess I have to intervene_ ”

” **ren you know you have one last chance to not do this** ”

ren picked up a small pebble and threw it at one of the goons

he turned around angrily while he caressed the spot where he got hit

”WHO HIT ME?”

ren threw another pebble at the goon

”YOU!”

the goon angrily started to run towards ren

the other goon who was there turned around and followed the chase after telling the driver to stay put

the driver saw the two chase after the assailant while he stood there dumbfounded

he then took out his phone as he got a notification

[Al: good evening, I see that you require some assistance?]

se med alibaba stepped in to help the lost worker out of his situation

the man stood there even more confused then before

meanwhile ren was being chased by the two goons as they started to slowly make their way back to Shibuya

” **seems these goons aren’t out of shape, but you should be able to ward them off** ”

arsene looked back to ren who seemed to be exhausted for some reason as the goons slowly gained on him

“ **ren are you alright?** ”

”I don’t know why but my body feels heavy”

ren kept running as he went through alleyways and the streets to avoid the goons but they didn’t give up

eventually ren got stuck at a dead end at the end of an alleyway

ren panted as he turned around to see the goons who caught up to him also just as exhausted

”finally kid you can’t move anymore”

”time for you to go away for good”

ren was trapped and stuck with nothing he could do except fight back but who knows what the goons might pull out of their sleeves

” **ren they might have weapons it isn’t wise to fight them** ”

ren analyzed the situation and saw that arsene might be right as the goons did reach for something but ren had a great idea pop in his head at that moment

ren reached in his bag and pulled out the airsoft pistol he ordered at untouchable

the goons seized up and held their hands above their heads

”woah!..kid we can talk”

”talk? you were trying to kill me”

”water under the bridge hehe..right?”

“here’s what your going to do..”

the goons gulped as they awaited their fate

”you are going to go away and tell that bastard kaneshiro that I died ok?”

”why should we-“

ren steadied his pistol sights directly to the goon’s head

”oh ok I guess we can do that”

”now go before I change my mind”

the goons immediately got up and ran away before ren could think to fire

after they ran away ren leaned against the wall as he put the fake gun away

ren was breathing rapidly while sweating

“pretty smart of me right arsene?”

“ **I think you should go and rest** ”

”not yet I need to go and help-“

arsene then flew in front of ren

” **ren there’s a time to do those things and a time you need to rest you can’t favor one over the other** ”

”still I don’t know why I’m so exhausted all of a sudden I was energized yesterday but not today”

” **you can think about that at home now lets go before he get sick from the rain** ”

”maybe that’s why”

” **then if it is that means you should rest up** ”

”nothing that’ll stop me”

arsene facepalmed while he sighed “ **you moron** ”

ren then walked back to the station why saying that he was good to go for their heist 

* * *

_**Kaneshiro’s clubhouse** _

kaneshiro was ordering around the goons to clean up their messes and glass was all over the floors and to get the light back up and running

he got a call and stepped into another room and took it

”hello?”

[hello Junya have you gotten rid of him?”]

”yes akechi-san he has been taken out yet goons made sure of it”

[great, then it seems I have no more obstacles in my way]

”anyways, what about our deal that we made-“

he then heard akechi hang up the phone

”sir?”

after he saw that he indeed hung up he held his phone angrily 

“DAMN HIM!”

a goon outside of the room knocked on the door 

”sir, it seems the goons who chased after him didn’t get him after all”

kaneshiro was too pissed off to give mercy to the two goons

”deal with them otherwise I have to deal with you!”

”right away sir”

kaneshiro heard the goon walk away and kaneshiro held his head in frustration 

“the detective has me pinned what do I even do?”

akechi had kaneshiro under his control as he knew all about his crimes and all of his hideouts 

what confused kaneshiro more was why he made a deal with the mafia boss and not go for glory in taking him down

”why is he so obsessed with that kid?”


	41. Second in command

Bank of gluttony

the group was standing around the front entrance of the bank waiting for ren who was taking a long time to show up 

“do you really think ren’s gonna show?” ryuji asked curiously

”skull! codenames!” mona barked at ryuji

”but do we have to call him by his codename even when he’s not here?”

”that’s- now that you mention it I’m not so sure”

”I think it’s fine, me ann and haru we’re talking about you guys when we waiting for you guys to open up that door at madarame’s palace”

”wait you were?” ryuji asked curious to what the ladies were talking about “what were you talking about?”

”private girl talk now stop prying”

”fineee..”

they stood around for a bit more

“you know I haven’t asked but how did you guys meet ren?”

makoto was curious as she was a phantom thief for less than a week but didn’t really know a lot about the group so it would make sense if she asked now

”well me and him met when we were almost late to class” ryuji had a goofy smile as he said that

”of course you were” makoto disapprovingly sighed “ann what about you?”

”he joined the same class as me and he sits behind me”

”how interesting, but it was kinda like fate no?” shiho teased ann

”f-f-fate? hehe I wouldn’t say that” ann happily blushed

“what about you shiho?”

“I didn’t necessarily meet him but ann gushed over him when we talked”

”I did not!” ann embarrassingly said while trying to hide her reddish face

”every time we talked it was either about modeling or your crush on ren”

”it was not every time!”

”ann, it was every time especially after ren saved you like a damsel in distress”

ann groaned as she couldn’t come up with a better counter argument

but something sparked in her head

”wait a second you said you met ren when he gave you an ice pack and a piggy back ride”

Mann remembered one of their conversations they had and ann didn’t really care about it until now

the group stared at shiho with some shock and surprise

shiho started to sweat as ann started to realize 

”he gave you a piggyback ride!?”

”ann we can talk about it, it was before you two started to date”

ann started to aggressively shook shiho’s shoulders 

“I don’t care! he hasn’t given me a piggyback ride!”

shiho was helpless in the situation

makoto moves on to haru as she didn’t know what to do ”I see, what about you haru?”

”me and mona-chan were at kamoshida’s palace when mona told me to wait at the gate and he showed up and was a big surprise and a big embarrassment when mona told me to say some awkward stuff”

“what kind of stuff?”

”he gave me the code name of beauty thief”

”yeah I can see why that would be awkward”

mona’s ears drooped down “I spent so long thinking about those names though”

”what about you yusuke?”

”we’ll i was gonna ask ann to model for me when I met ren, shiho and ryuji cracking their knuckles for some particular reason”

”alrighty then..and mona what about you?”

”he helped me escape the castle and ditched me after he got out”

”kinda harsh but I can see him doing that”

ryuji looked at makoto curious to her reasoning

”whaddya mean?”

”he did go into palaces solo before he met morgana right?”

”I think so”

”ren hasn’t told any of us about his phantom thief life before he went to shujin” yusuke said plainly

”what was his life back then though? have any of you guys gotten info from him?”

”he has a sister” shiho said knowing it wasn’t much

”ren is a very mysterious individual who knows who he might’ve been” yusuke tried to think of what ren could’ve been back then

”well he can’t be that different than the ren we know now”

”correct, it seems he hasn’t change that much”

”well yusuke maybe your eccentricity can make him break”

”my what?”

”nothing! but how about you try to talk to him”

”I’ll try but I cannot guarantee I’ll be successful”

”wait!” shiho had caught everyone’s attention ”what if we ask alibaba she has to know a lot about ren is she’s a hacker”

”you know you could be right about that we should ask her”

makoto then snapped out of their conversation as everyone totally forgot their mission

”you guys we can’t talk now let’s go and find the treasure seeing as ren isn’t coming”

”yeah, hey maybe that’s he’s not here I could be leader-“

”ren made me temp leader”

makoto shot down morgana’s attempt to be leader immediately

they entered in the bank and started from where they left off

* * *

 Vault 1F

they were in the bank right where they left off but there was a big obstacle that none of them knew how to go over

how did ren pull off the mask of the shadows

rem always did it in style but he never taught the group how to do it on their own

they all huddled up near a shadow as they tried to think on how to do it

”does any one of you know how to pull of their mask like how ren does?” makoto assumed the rest of the group knew how to do it as they have been in the metaverse longer

they all looked at each other with blank expressions to see who would do the honors

“I vote queen should do it she’s the leader after all” yusuke said first as it seemed the most logical out of any choice to pick her

”no, no i can’t I’m not as experienced, mona what about you”

”last time mona-chan tried he fell on his face and had to be saved by ren, why do we jsut shoot hit from far away” haru saved mona and proposed a different idea for the team

shiho however had other ideas

“then we could alert the other guards, how about we just rush the shadow, it can’t stop all of us”

ann went that passive route

”I don’t think we are that capable to do that let's just sneak past them”

it seemed that everyone had different ideas to how they should approach

inevitably all of them broke down into a full blown argument on how they should take down a shadow

ryuji bored of the arguments just walk away and full blown wacked the shadow hard enough over the head with his pipe that he disappeared into mist

the group looked at him surprised and astonished that his idea somehow worked

”hey guys I figured it out you just need to hit them, really hard”

”works for me”

the group decided that’s how they were going to do things and they went on their merry way 

* * *

 Vault 2F

after some major puzzle solving and some intense fighting the group were nearly done with their search for the treasure

they made it to another pin machine

ryuji grabbed his head out of frustration “another one of these god damn things”

they barely solved the first two pin machines so solving the third one which was a bit more tricky was difficult

after solving it after numerous random guesses and being close to it they finally got it

they escaped back to the main area but they moved sluggishly 

“who would think that doing this without ren would be way harder”

”maybe it’s because of his leadership”

”what do you mean fox?”

”think about it, ren teaches us how to fight while conserving our energy”

”makes sense, maybe we haven’t been taught anything at all”

”or we’re just bad students”

”let’s just finish this with ren maybe them we can finish it”

”well we aren’t in a rush we have about 3 days to complete so another day in here then the day we send the calling card”

NOW LEAVING

the group reappeared back into the real world

ryuji yawned “jeez this is way more tiring”

they all checked their phones to see the messages ren sent half an hour ago

[Re: you guys find the treasure?]

[M: close but we need an extra day]

[M: what about you?]

[Re: nothing much but i might have to skip school again]

[M: sure]

”he has to skip school?”

”didn’t he do this already?”

”he’s gonna have to come up with a good excuse to get out of this one, if he can do it once he can do it again..lucky bastard” ryuji was jealous on how ren could skip school and it pissed him off

“let’s just leave that to him, ann-chan can deal with him” haru joyfully smiled at ann

”in any case let’s just deal with it later I believe we have time”

they split up again without worrying too much

again ren lied to the group in order for them to not worry for his well being


	42. Preparations

Leblanc attic

ren was laying on his bed after he read the response to his statement

ren put his phone down as he sighed while arsene floated above him

” **so why’re not telling them about your predicament?** ”

”I don’t want them to worry too much”

” **ren, sometimes you need to ask for help** ”

ren waved off arsene’s concerns “I got it don’t worry, if anyone can handle it it’ll be the heart thief”

ren chuckled as he said the last part in a goofy over the top heroic way 

arsene sighed but gave out a chuckle as he shook his head

“ **just don’t lose your head** ”

”don’t worry”

arsene got real close to ren’s face as he talked without joking and in all seriousness

” **I’m. Not. Joking.”**

” **now let’s go to bed** ”

”..right”

ren went to bed as he was told to as he went into a deep sleep

* * *

Velvet room

ren woke up in a familiar jumpsuit as he rose from his prison bed

he looked over to see Caroline furiously hit the cell bars

”up inmate!”

”our master wishes to speak with you”

”ok you don’t need to hit the cell bars for that though”

”shut it!”

ren looked over to Igor who was sitting at his desk

”you are progressing nicely trickster”

”so why did you summoned me here?”

“I need to advise you on a certain topic”

“what is that?”

”the other one is scheming and if you’re not careful, your rehabilitation may be put to a halt”

”he probably means akechi”

”is that all you have to say”

”yes, other than that your rehabilitation will go smoothly”

”thanks captain obvious”

”so can I go now?”

“you may”

caroline hit the cell

”no slacking inmate”

the other twin nodded 

“may your rehabilitation goes smoothly”

ren went back to his bed and slept until morning

* * *

 Lunchtime

makoto was sitting down doing some work in the student council room

the other members were out having lunch so it was just makoto working by herself working

in came in a knock from her door

”come in”

in came in a happy haru who cheerfully stepped in and gave a smile to makoto

”hi mako-chan!”

”haru what’re you doing here?”

”you’re never in the classroom so I wanted to talk to you here”

”oh well then have a seat, the other members won’t be showing up for now”

haru took a seat and opened her lunch box

”you pack a lot don’t you”

makoto remarked on how packed haru’s lunchbox was

”my maid makes sure I’m healthy as per my father’s rules”

”your father, do you see him a lot?”

haru took a deep breath

”ever since my mom passed away he’s not here with me as often as usual”

”well then that does seem really bad”

”but I want this to be between you and me and no one else”

makoto looked up at haru who smiled at her but she saw her hands shake

”what..is it haru?”

”my father has a palace”

hearing that sentence made makoto drop her pencil while she had her mouth open speechless

haru looked down at her hands in sadness after saying it

”my father seems to have a palace I don’t know why”

”h-haru why haven’t you told anyone?”

”I don’t want anyone to worry for me”

”is that why morgana isn’t with you?”

 ”well I gave him to shiho seeing as he was being naughty”

makoto could already think on what kind of things morgana did to deserve that punishment 

“but besides that mako-chan I thought the it wasn’t the right moment to say especially now with what happened with kaneshiro”

”I guess you’re right ren has already skipped school twice” makoto was remembering how angry ren was when he saw her getting harassed by the goon “ren does seem to try to make us not worry for his safety”

haru chuckled “yeah, he is the caring type”

”maybe a bit too much” makoto softly laughed “but I wonder what’s gone through him sometimes”

”what do you mean?”

”some of his actions can be very irrational maybe his emotions control him more”

”I guess you’re right about that”

”but I can sympathize why you’ve only told me about this secret”

”because ren would end up also worrying about you and maybe putting too much pressure on himself”

“exactly”

they both giggled but makoto looked at haru with sincerity 

“what’re you gonna do now though?”

”I’ll find my moment when I can, it’s not like I’m in a rush”

”I guess that is the smartest decision”

haru went back to eating her lunch

”you want some?”

”sure I could have a bite”

haru smiled and gave some of her lunch to makoto

* * *

 Bank of gluttony

vault 3f

ren was running through the vault at full speed killing shadows left and right with arsene following him from behind

” **seems akechi is on to you** ”

ren gritted his teeth “like I’ll let him get away with this”

ren blazed through the vault as he gunned down more shadows

” _what’s the point of being a hero if you can’t take down the big bad guy”_

_”I don’t care how many people I kill as long as he gets taken down along with them”_

_”being a hero is about taking down the bad guys no matter what cost_ ”

akechi’s voice rang through ren’s head as he kept going which made him more mad

”I’m not letting him kill anymore innocents!”

arsene saw ren channel his rage into taking down more and more shadows and it concerned him

the black aura that e saw in ren was more prevalent and it made arsene worry for his mental health as he worried he was starting to have a distorted mindset

* * *

 Afterschool

yusuke and shiho were at a cafe at an outdoor table as yusuke was working on the calling card and shiho was helping him out

yusuke drank his coffee as he finished the final touches on the logo

”say yusuke”

shiho said as she looked on to yusuke draw

”hmm?”

”you think we can do it?”

”it’ll be the same as always, are you doubting yourself?”

”I guess, maybe I’m just scared for what might happen next”

shiho wasn’t used to hunting down shadows as the more and more she learned about the metaverse the more sadder she got thinking about it

”think of life as an empty canvas, the more you paint the more self conscious you get thinking it may not be as good as you hope but if you leave it empty you may never know you might paint or draw”

”that’s...that’s very inspirational of you yusuke”

”it was something madarame told me” yusuke stoped drawing ont eh card for a second as he recollected about the man who was a father figure to him

”even though he was a liar he was a good man”

”I guess so, but are we doing the right thing?”

”what do you mean”

shiho looked down at her coffee with a sad expression

”I keep thinking about what akechi has been saying about us, is changing hearts good?”

yusuke sat there and thought to himself 

“it must be right? but if we’re gonan talk about being good or bad I believe ren would know as he’d usually say ‘it’s our job to do it’ or ‘we can’t let any other person suffer’ or at least something along the lines of that”

shiho laughed “yeah, that’s exactly what he would say 

bad they were laughing both of their phones rang and they looked at who it was

it was ren who they hadn’t talked to since last night as he gave only two messages

[Re: I’ve secured a route]

[Re: yusuke is that card ready?]

[Y: yes it is]

[Re: I’ll meet you in Shibuya it’s time we lit an end to kaneshiro once and for all]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for not uploading for a week so double upload  
> many reasons I haven’t been uploading as I’ve been super busy and I’ve been rewriting the chapters so it’s takes up the little time I do have for writing  
> I’ll try to stay consistent so I’ll see what I can do for time


	43. Breaking the piggy bank

Kaneshiro’s clubhouse 

kaneshiro was pacing around thinking about what might happen to him. he failed his mission and ren is still up and walking who knows what might happen if akechi were to find out about him

”those damn idiot couldn’t even take out some weak child how pitiful”

a knock came at his door and kaneshiro answered

”what is it?”

“there was this card that was put on the front door”

the guard held up a card and kaneshiro swipes it out of his hands

kaneshiro read out the card

”Sir junya kaneshiro, the money grubbing sinner of glutton you indulge in scamming other and only target minors exclusively and threaten them with horrendous effects, we have decided to make you confess to all of your crimes with your own mouth. We will take your distorted desires. from, the phantom thieves.

he crumpled it up and gave it back to him

”like he could do it”

kaneshiro aggressively grabbed the guards shirt collar

”now then go find me that boy without alerting everyone”

kaneshiro laughed

”luckily you idiots at least put a tracker on his phone now go find his phone and you’ll find the guy”

when they tried to kidnap ren they put a tracker on his phone in order to make sure he did his work without lying about it

however ren was about to be the metaverse so the tracker was gonna track nothing

at least it should be but there was a certain Futaba messing with their stuff and she was about to lead them on a wild goose chase for a phone that doesn’t exist

if only they could hear the girl laugh

meanwhile

in Shibuya the group prepared for their operation

morgana was the one who delivered the card so the group was awaiting for his return

ren was checking his bag as he stuffed some supplies in there

after he finished he looked at the group with a confident expression

”are you guys ready for this?”

the group was pretty stoked to finally be able to beat up kaneshiro

”of course we are but what about you?”

ren looked to makoto who seem to be only worried

”what’s up?”

”you sure this’ll work right?”

”of course”

”but didn’t you come back from the metaverse aren’t you tired”

”nope! I can keep going”

ren said energetically to show that he could keep going

makoto sighed in relief “good I wouldn’t want you to push yourself”

”don’t worry I’ll be fine”

”jeez i wished at least someone came with me”

they looked to morgana who was running to them

”do you know how many times people to grab me or kick me?”

”well did you send the card?”

”yes I did and I saw one of the goons pick it up and go inside”

”good so then we’re ready”

”wait shouldn’t we supply up and-“

ren shook his bag and they could hear how much stuff ren had in his bag

”oh well I guess we’re ready”

NOW ENTERING

they started their move through the palace

security was extra high but it didn’t matter as ren had a path straight to the treasure

there was minimal shadow interaction as the team zipped through the bank

arsene floated next to ren

” **ren are you sure you want to do this** ”

” _it’s fine_ ”

” **you’re a bit drained though, you might not be able to preform at your fullest** ”

” _it’s fine_ ”

” **you may not have enough power to summon personas though** ”

” _it’ll be fine_ ”

arsene sighed he really should’ve been used to ren overworking himself but it still irritated him

the moved forward to  vault and they saw that there was a huge elevator leading to somewhere else

”is that where the treasure is?”

they stood in front of the elevator 

“remember in and out what happens, happens”

”right”

they all marched into the elevator and went further down

they arrived in a room with a giant safe in the back of it

”joker, where’s the treasure?” morgana said as he looked at the empty room

”it was right here where did it go?”

ren stood where he saw the treasure confused where it was

”it seems you are more persistent than I thought”

”kaneshiro! where are you!?” ryuji yelled out

”why I’m just right here”

the ground started to shake as the safe and the walls around it started to move

as they moved a revealed a giant metal piggy with kaneshiro standing on top laughing 

“so then how do you like it?” kaneshiro said while laughing heavily

”a pig!?” morgana said confused

”this is my Piggytron, the perfect machine to crush those below me”

”what a weird machine”

”ITS NOT WEIRD! this is the best machine to kill you all”

”tch..pig or not we will bring you to justice and have you confess to all of the crimes you’ve committed”

”crimes..no no no, all I have done was to get back at those who stepped on me and now look at me, I’m the top dog I’m the one who can boss others around”

”that’s not right, getting back people doesn’t do anything” makoto exclaimed

”yeah! people like you should know that very well” ryuji said angrily

”fools! all of you, you don’t understand the muck I had to go through to get here, only the clever and smartest come out on top the rest of you are fodder for the rich”

“like we’ll allow you to do that” yusuke said as he took out his katana

”then prepare...yo”

kaneshiro stared to change

wings grew on his back

his eyes looked like those of a bug

and he rubbed his hands like how a fly would

kaneshiro laughed “now then ya punks, let’s do this”

kaneshiro started to fly 

the pig’s nose opened and kaneshiro flew into it

”now then die like the ants that you are”

” **ironic for a fly** ” arsene had a nice retort even thoguh

the pig started off its attack by shooting rockets to the group

”oh crap, rockets!” ryuji said a bit terrified as the rockets swarmed towards them

”just dodge them” morgana barked out

they dodged the rockets just barely

kaneshiro laughed loudly as his pig shot out bullets and the group was forced to dodge

”enough of this!”

ryuji jumped in the air

”take this!”

he struck the metal pig with great force

however ryuji bounced back from the shock of his hit

”that thing is way too freaking hard”

shiho steadied her gun

”then we have to shoot at it from far away”

shiho shot out a bullet but again it seemed ineffective 

“nrggh...joker what should we do”

”just keep attacking it, it may seems ineffective but it’s all that we can do”

they all pulled out their guns

”fire!”

they all shot out at the robot

”ngh..damn brats”

kaneshiro retaliated by having his pig jump in the air and shaking the ground with enough force it rocked the group to the floor

”how are we supposed to beat it?” ryuji said frustrated that nothing would hurt it

 “let’s try to focus on one spot at a time maybe that’ll work”

”got it” makoto revved up her bike “I’m gonna have to have some back up so hop on”

ren also hopped on the bike

”skull, mona let’s go”

“roger!”

”huh..oh right”

they hopped on her bike

”Thermopylae!”

ren used a move which buffed all of their stats

but it was a costly spell for the little amount of sp ren had

as they steadied closer towards kaneshiro he launched even more rockets towards them

ryuji took at his shotgun and was about to shoot the rockets and the Piggytron but they were shot by the four that stayed behind

”we got your back just go and hit that bastard” ann said as she shot more fire spells at kaneshiro 

“you guys ready?” ren said as arsene stood tall behind him

”I’m gonna regret this but launch me skull” mona asked ryuji to throw him so that he could get on the giant pig

ryuji gave a huge grin as he grabbed mona by the head 

“with pleasure!”

”wait! I changed my mind-“

it was too late as ryuji revved his arm up

”a one and a two and A THREE!!”

he threw morgana in the air as far as he could

luckily it was just enough so that morgana was a few feet above the Piggytron

”let’s hit him..”

they all readied their personas

”now!”

they all sent volleys of spells towards a single spot on the robot

”alright time for you to get away”

the pig jumped in the air and sent a shockwave towards the group 

the wave was powerful enough to send the three on makoto’s bike flying back

morgana who was on top of the pig was hitting at its back repeatedly 

“take this!”

”annoying pest!”

kaneshiro tried to shake off morgana but he held on for dear life

”hellllppp meeeee”

”guys this is our opening, fire away!” ren ordered to shoot at the pig

as they kept sending more spells at the robot arsene warned ren

” **ren, you’re running a bit low any more and it could bring negative effects to your real life health** ”

” _I don’t care!_ ”

they shot more spells at the pig tried its best to shake morgana off

”you’re hitting me dammit!”

some spells hit morgana as well while he still held on

”that’s it! super vip form!”

the pig jumped into the air as switched into a ball which made morgana finally release as the robot was spinning around in the air

morgana hit the ground but before he could get up the robot planted right next to him 

the force was strong enough to send morgana flying back to the group hitting yusuke in the head

yusuke held onto his mask as tried to soothe his new headache that he got from being hit in the head

”guys, what’s he doing?” makoto said weary of the spinning ball that was starting to reeady up

they noticed kaneshiro who was sitting on top of the robot running with it

”now then go!”

the spinning ball of doom charged towards them and it made the group run it all directions

they narrowly escaped the ball

the ball charged forwards right where haru was sitting at

”noir, move!”

noir stood there silent as she readied her axe

the ball charged towards her

“dieee!!!”

kaneshiro screamed as he was about hit noir

”take..” haru slapped the rolling ball of doom which stopped it dead in its tracks

kaneshiro started to panic as she seemed to be way stronger than she looked ”hey uh can we talk about-“

”this!!!”

haru hit the robot and sent it flying to the wall

it crashed onto the wall and tore it a bit as kaneshiro tried to fly back into the robot trying to get it starting again

”we got this now”

haru started to shoot at it and the rest followed

”noir I didn’t think you had that much power” shiho complimented haru’s strength

”I took one of those strength thingies that ren always had”

” **you gave her an adrenaline pill?** ”

” _well she asked what the supplies were in my bag_ ”

”very convenient”

kaneshiro got the robot working again and wasted no time in fire more volleys of rockets towards the group 

the group either dodged the rockets or shot at them blowing them up

” **ren, I have an idea** ”

” _what’s that_ ”

” **if he’s greedy he’d definitely go for that giant pearl you got in that chest earlier** ”

arsene nodded to earlier when ren found a chest and got a giant pearl

ren was going to sell it but throwing it to kaneshiro seemed a bit more convenient

”hey kaneshiro!”

”what!”

ren threw the pearl on the floor

“look at that shiny pearl on the ground

”hmmm...?” 

kaneshiro looked at the ground to see the spotless shiny pearl that was on the ground

he gasped then ordered Piggytron to suck up the pearl

”nonway, Piggytron retrieve that gorgeous pearl right this instant!”

the pig sucked up the pearl and kaneshiro had a good chance to gaze at the pearl

“woah! this pearl is so genuine and shiny, I wonder how much money this could fetch me”

kaneshiro was too distracted by the pearl to attack the group as the pearl was too amazing for him to pass up

”wait, is he looking at the pearl?” makoto asked confusingly

”yep”

”don’t stand there shoot him” morgana ordered

they opened fire again on the robot while kaneshiro was still complimenting the pearl

“this is so shiny I don’t think anything else could compare to it

kaneshiro then realized what was happening and he switched his target to the group once again

”brats it’s super vip form again!”

the group was starting to exhaust themselves but they still had enough in them to go for another attack on the piggytron

the pig turned back into a ball and ren had an idea pop in his head

”hey queen you think you could get me close to that pig”

”sure, just hop on”

ren got on and makoto revved the bike

they quickly sped towards the spinning ball of doom with kaneshiro on top

”joker, what’s the plan”

 “get me close enough to him and I’ll knock him off”

”alright”

makoto kept speeding forward as the rest shot at the ball

right before kaneshiro was about to grow the ball at them makoto got close enough

”ok joker is this good?”

ren jumped to the front of the bike

”perfect!”

ren jumped off of the bike and into the air as he was able to jump high enough to reach kaneshiro

with a little help of arsene boosting him

”kaneshiro!”

kaneshiro who was running with the machine looked at him surprised

”how did you-“

before he could talk further ren kicked him straight in the gut knocking him off the ball

”now a taste of your own medicine!”

ren shot the ground which made the ball hop up in the air and land on kaneshiro

kaneshiro was squashed under the machine as it fell on him

“now fire!”

they all launched all they could at the downed kaneshiro

”take this!”

ren summoned another persona besides arsene and shot at the robot

”arghh!!!”

the pig blew up leaving kaneshiro down with a pile of metal parts and other screws

there was also a pile of shiny gold bars that flew out

kaneshiro shot up out of the metal debris that was on top of him and dove into the gold bars

”no! their mine.. I worked so hard for them! I’m not letting anyone have it”

”listen dude it’s not cool of you to do that to other people” ryuji said as he put his bat on his shoulder

he turned around which revealed the sweat and the fear on his face

”you guys should understand weren’t you oppressed by higher powers, you should be on my side!”

”we aren’t like you” makoto said sternly

”it’s all society’s fault forcing the weak to nevertheless be happy! you should understand that!”

he pointed to ren

”you..you were stuck in an unfair fate weren’t you”

”how did you-“

”you were put in some bullshit program and now you will be stained with a false charge”

” **seems his intelligence group knows their stuff** ”

”you could have everything, you could get back at those who harmed you, hell you could do whatever you wanted with that power”

”we’re the phantom thieves, heroes of justice who will take down all those who oppress those in this society!” ren said proudly which rendered a smile from the rest of the group

kaneshiro sat on his gold bars and he stared up at the group ready to face his punishments

”seriously, you sound like comic book heroes, you could do anything you wanted to yet you all act like kids in capes”

kaneshiro took a deep breath before smiling 

”if there something you want to know there’s another person out there, one that use that power for his own needs and wants”

”another persona-user?” haru said as she looked at the others for validation

”yes, there’s another person out there using these palaces to do what he wants disregarding whatever happens that being mental shutdowns, psychotic breakdowns, and worse yet death”

hearing all of what kaneshiro said shocked the group

except ren who’s fist tightened while it was in his pockets as he knew who was responsible for all of this

”what’re you talking about” shiho said as she wanted to know the answer

kaneshiro simply laughed “I don’t think you could be a match for them, you’d be lucky if you left his grasps alive”

”just spill the beans already” ann was also pretty angry that he wasn’t talking

”oh don’t worry you'll see him soon enough I can already tell..”

kaneshiro laughed before he disappeared from their sights

”I wonder why he couldn’t tell us” yusuke was curious to what his answer would be if he did tell them

the ground started to shake

”that’s not important..let’s just grab the treasure and go”

ren was cut off as they heard sounds of meowing

they looked to the gold pile and saw morgana rubbing his face all over the gold and meowing loudly

”look guys treasure!”

”this is sooooooo greattttt”

morgana kept frantically rubbing his face on the gold as he kept meowing

”what’s he doing?” makoto said as this was the first time she saw this

”you stupid cat!” ryuji ran up and grabbed morgana “nows not the time dammit!”

ryuji threw the poor cat into the air and he transformed into a van

”don’t throw animals”

”not the time you idiot!”

”just grab the bars and put it into the car”

the guys grabbed the gold bars and put it into the back of the van

they got into the van after they put all the gold they could carry into it

”aright let’s go!”

makoto stepped on the pedal and they drove off

however they forgot one crucial thing that happened after kaneshiro disappeared

”there’s no road!” morgana yelled as they drove off the flying bank

they all screamed as they embraced for impact

NOW LEAVING, THANK YOU FOR YOUR HARD WORK

sounds of the gang hitting the ground as they entered back into the real world

”owww, I think I cracked my ass” ryuji said as he rubbed his butt in pain

”I think I’m fine something broke my fall” ann said relieved she wasn’t in pain

”check who broke your fall” shiho said as she stood up trying to adjust her back

ann looked down to see she was planted on ren’s back as ren laid on the ground with his face pressed on the floor

”oh my god, ren!”

ann tried to help ren as the poor boy was struck by ann as they fell

”I didn’t think we’d fall so hard” haru said as she wiped her clothes

they all stood up after evaluating their pain 

“seems we all made it out fine” ryuji exclaimed happily

”I don’t think we all are”

haru pointed at morgana who laid on the floor in the middle of the road

”it seems he died on the way down” yusuke said as they poor cat laid there barely moving

”he’s not dead”

”are you sure about that?”

”besides that, what’s that briefcase doin there?” ryuji pointed at the golden briefcase that sat on top of morgana

”it appears to be the cause of morgana’s death”

”no! it’s kaneshiro’s treasure”

”I see”

”well let’s not stand here the lights red”

makoto and ryuji walked over and picked up the poor cat and the briefcase

”there we got it, now where should we open it”

”I don’t know where should we?” shiho tried to think of where they should open it

”I’m...gonna..go..home”

they all looked to ren who seemed to be completely blown out

”ren? are you ok?”

”can’t....body..is too..heavyyy”

” **told you not to over work yourself and look what happens to you** ”

” _ass...hole.._ ”

ren gave one last insult to arsene before he fell forward

before he hit the ground he was caught by both yusuke and ann

ren was breathing heavily

ann felt his head and it was burning hot

”I think he may have a fever”

”great, now we have two injured members” shiho sighed

”let’s just get him home and we can discuss from there”

they all moved on while they dragged ren and carried morgana over


	44. Restful night

Leblanc

the gang entered the car and saw no one in the cafe besides sojiro having a little break behind the counter

hw turned to face the group but he saw ann come in first align with yusuke as they dragged ren’s body in the shop

sojiro looked at the group a bit worried for the sick boy

”what up with him?”

”he seems he caught a cold or something so we brought him here” ann innocently giggled as ren sickly moaned

”just take him upstairs”

they started to enter and and sojiro took notice of makoto as she entered in and plotely apologized for their intrusion

”sorry for our intrusion, he’s gotten sick”

”you a new friend of there’s”

”yes I am makoto niijima”

”niijima huh”

”well if you’ll excuse us”

makoto walked off upstairs along with the group

sojiro scratches his head as that name seemed familiar to him

”niijima huh, sounds oddly familiar”

Leblanc attic

ann and yusuke help set ren down on his bed as he still breathed heavily

”I’ll get him something to cool his head” yusuke walked back downstairs to get ren something

ann sighed as she sat next to ren helping him settle in his bed

ren opened his eyes slightly as spoke softly to ann

”sorry for being sick..”

ann giggled as she never saw ren in such a vulnerable state before

”just rest up and you’ll be better in no time”

she out his blanket over him and ren smiled at her

“thanks..”

ren started to go to sleep peacefully which looked cute to ann

yusuke also came back and gave ann a towel along with cold water that sojiro gave him to help the poor kid out

after placing the ice pack on ren she got up and walked to the rest of the group who were tending to morgana and their new shiny gold briefcase they got from kaneshiro

shiho and haru were putting banadages on morgana as he kept squealing in pain

”owwww”

”hold still and it won’t hurt so much”

”but it hurts sooo bad”

”haru how did you deal with him?” shiho was already exhausted of morgana’s bs to handle herself

”morgana, naughty”

while they were helping morgana the other 3 were trying to figure out how to open the briefcase

ryuji tried putting in random combinations but nothing worked 

makoto tried her hand but to no success

”how do we open this?” ryuji said as he scratched his head

”try using one of ren’s lock picks” morgana pointed to the tool bench filled with tools and materials

they looked over and gazed at the bench

”I forgot he had these” haru picked up one of the lock picks and inspected it

”but they wouldn’t work on a briefcase would they”

“6....3...5” 

they looked over to see ren groan out those numbers

”ryuji try those”

ryuji entered in those exact numbers and it open the briefcase

”holy hell, how’d you know?” ryuji looked at ren amazed

”he...always opened..it in front of...me”

”well thanks for that now go back to sleep”

”o..k..”

ren went back to sleep and the rest of the group went to inspecting what was in the briefcase

they saw stacks and stacks of bills totaling 1 million per stack and 30 million in total 

“holy crap there’s...1..2..3-30 million yen in this thing!?” ryuji said amazed at how much money they had now

”quite shocking” haru wasn’t impressed as the clothing she owned could easily be more than 30 million yen

morgana got all up close to the briefcase as he saw his future in it

”so much sushi with this I could be the happiest kitty in the world”

”the ramen I could buy with this”

”screw ramen all of the crepes I could buy” shiho also went aboard the food train as they thought of all the foods they could buy with this much money

the three were thinking with food in their mind and nothing else besides their food of choice

”not to be a buzzkill but have you looked closer at the cash that’s in here” yusuke picked up a stacked and looked at it closely

they looked closer but they saw the bills had kaneshiro’s face on it and the words children’s bank on it

ryuji angrily rubbed his head in frustration “noooooo, why couldn’t it be real”

”I wished it was reallll” shiho looked at the cash in sadness

“too bad” haru tried to comfort the three 

“you wouldn’t understand” ryuji said whole sniffling

”at least kaneshiro is no longer on ren’s back and he can rest easy”

yusuke looked over to the sick ren

“maybe not as easy”

the group session ended there as they were all exhausted and tired from the fight with kaneshiro

* * *

Later

ren opened his eyes to see

nothing

he took off his glasses before he went to sleep so he couldn’t see all too well

he did hear a soft gentle snoring

he reached for his glasses and looked to see ann resting her head at the edge of his bed

ren sat up a bit more energized than usual

his first instinct was to pet ann’s head and feel her hair

ann seemed to enjoying it being as ren said her name while she was asleep and petting her hair

“annn...”

no response

”annie!”

again no response

ren then thought other matters must be used and he decided there was only one thing left that he could do

pull her checks until she woke up

while he did he kept calling her name in a playful way

ann finally started to awake while ren was laughing to himself

ann rose up and started to scratch her eyes

”ren..?”

”in the flesh”

ann then gave a chop on ren’s head playfully but just enough to knock his glasses of his eyes

”dummy”

”what did I do?”

”you overworked yourself”

”what do you mean”

”you went into the palace by yourself and then overworked yourself in the fight with kaneshiro”

ren scratched his head knowing he was full on guilty “hehe, I guess I did”

”well at least i was able to get some medicine for you”

“really where?”

”I should be asking you that”

ann seemed a little ticked off after she said that

”what did I do this time? hehe” ren innocently laughed as he didn’t know what ann was talking about

”how come you know about this doctor and how she calls you her ‘guinea pig?’ ”

ren then tied to think of something that didn’t sound weird and sounded believable

”she’s the person I buy my medicine from”

”and what about the guinea pig part?”

”s-she” ren took a big gulp as what he’s about to say might sound very weird “I test medicine for her for some of her medicine”

”oh really” ann didn’t seem to buy it but she trusted ren enough to believe his story “fine then but you will be given a punishment”

”a punishment?”

”you will have to wear long sleeves until August”

”excuse me?”

ren didn’t believe that this was his punishment 

“is there any reason for this being my punishment?” ren felt as there was an underlying issue that ann was hiding

”nope! none at all” ann looked away from ren which made ren smile as he knew she was lying

”oh really now?”

”yep, nothing at all” ann tried to act her way out but she was a terrible actor and ren could see right through her

ren tried to connect the dots on why she would ask something like that for ren to do

” _arsene?_ ”

” **at your service!** ”

” _ok...do you know what she could be hiding_ ”

” **doesn’t she cling to you when you walk in the halls sometimes** ”

” _she does?...wait I got it_ ”

ren looked at ann smugly

”you keep clinging on to me is that a part of the reason?”

”n-nope”

”you’re jealous aren’t you”

”me jealous?, of course not” ann also said it in her acting voice which sounded very fake

”ann you might as well come out clean your acting sucks”

”hey! that’s pretty mean” ann pouted

ren rubbed her head again “just come out clean I already caught you”

”fineee” ann caved in to ren’s demands “well I keep hearing how the girls have changed their opinion about you, well at least sort of”

”in what way?”

”well they look at you weirdly”

”is that why you cling to me when other girls walk by”

”y-yeah” ann said it while blushing and twisting her finger in her hair “I don’t want any hussies taking you”

ren started to break out laughing which made ann blush even harder

”that’s why you’re making me wear long sleeves”

although ann was incredibly flustered she stood her ground

”s-so what, it’s ok to be jealous it’s proves our love doesn’t it?”

in between laughs and wiping his eyes of tears ren leaned forward and kissed ann on the forehead 

“that’s all you get”

”huh why?”

”for trying to hide your ulterior motives”

ann pouted “fine then”

she sat up from her chair and then jumped into ren 

“ann!”

she had her arms around ren’s neck as she starting get herself comfortable

”ann what are you doing”

”spending the night here”

ann snuggled up with ren

“wait! I don’t think we can!”

ren was starting to get nervous

”it’ll be Sunday tomorrow, and it’s not like we’re doing anything other than sleeping”

”w-well I don’t know if I’m comfortable about this” ren was starting to get flustered 

“my is our ‘fearless leader’ getting embarrassed” ann said slyly while giggling

“well this isn’t something I’m used to”

”what someone sleeping with you?”

”well yeah..and something else”

”wait..have you never had a girlfriend before?”

”n-no this all new to me”

ren never had a girlfriend before ann so he really didn’t know what he should do really

“it’s fine I never had a boyfriend before you”

”really?”

”yep!”

ann seemed oddly proud of that statement

“ann, where did you get these ideas about couples?”

”from shows and movies”

”ann” ren tried to talk without chuckling “do you know what is means to sleep with someone”

”yeah isn’t it when you-“ ann started to turn red after realizing what it really meant to ‘sleep with someone’

it seemed ann was a bit more naive than what ren thought 

she sat up from his bed as she didn’t move an entire inch as she slowly turned more and more red

ren waved his hand in front of her face

”earth to ann, are you there?”

she didn’t respond

”I think I broke ann”

she then slammed her hands on his bed and started to yell

”I-I’m going home!”

she got off and started to walk downstairs with her face still red as a beet

ren laid back down into his bed staring at the ceiling

arsene peeked over into his sight lines

”where were you this entire time”

” **wondering when she was gonna really attack you like she does with ryuji** ”

”why’s that?”

” **because her chat with the doctor was quite something** ”

”did they fight?”

” **nope, but ann looked really jealous** ”

”should I take that as a good or a bad thing?”

” **bad, who knows what she might’ve done to you if you didn’t explain yourself** ”

”I would’ve most likely have died”

” **well now it’s bed time because you were just sick and you are still sick** ”

”I don’t feel sick though”

arsene got real close to ren

” **Doesn’t. Matter.** ”

”ok fine”

ren was now able to rest easy knowing that kaneshiro would no longer go after him and now he could rest easy knowing that he was safe

well at least for now

Morning

sojiro was watching the news on TV

”it seems that several arrests were made last night about the mafia group that has been terrorizing Shibuya and most of Tokyo, seems that the leader has turned himself in along with a mysterious calling card by these ‘phantom thieves’ who are these vigilantes? could they be associated with the similar cases found in other parts of japan? they will be investigated further as told from a statement released by the police”

while sojiro was watching he was drinking his own cup of coffee

sojiro gave out a big sigh “what’s happening with the world”

the bell over the door ring and sojiro was about to get himself started with work

he put his coffee cup and down and faced towards the door

”welcome how may I help you-“

sojiro choked on his own words when he saw who had came in

”Hey sojiro”

”k-kazuma?!”

ren’s dad seems to come in the ship with his overcoat and everything and he gave a smile that would haunt sojiro for most of his days

”hey there how’s it going? also how’s my son doing?”


	45. A pesky reunion

Sojiro still looked shocked as he saw his ‘friend’ walk into his shop with the same goofy smile he’s seen for most of his early years

”so what do you want”

”some coffee”

he stared up at the staircase to the attic

”and my son”

”go ahead, I mean you haven’t seen the kid in months” he gave out a smile “but he’s changed a lot”

”oh really?”

”good thing he didn’t inherit most of your traits”

ren’s dad gave a hardy laugh “you were always a comedian”

”that wasn't a joke”

some shuffling could be heard upstairs as ren was getting up and dressed

after a bit more shuffling ren walked down stairs rubbing his eyes 

“hey boss”

he looked to to finely dressed detective on the other side of the counter

”dad?”

”hey son”

he held out his arms as he awaited a hug from his son

ren gave him a hug but separated and looked at him

”so why’re you here?”

”well there was a big case that was finally solved yesterday, a mafia boss was arrested along with several other criminals and apparently these phantom thieves are also involved and I was asked to help with the case”

he scratched at his chin as he was stuck in his thoughts

”I wonder if the heart thief could also be apart of these thieves”

”dad”

he popped out his thoughts as he stared back at ren

“hmm?”

”don’t overdo it like last time”

he gave out a smile as he patted ren’s hair “of course I won’t”

after he patted ren’s head he gave a good hardy laugh as he smiled at ren

”so I’ve heard you’ve gotten a girlfriend”

”yea?”

”can I meet her, I wish to know the lucky woman who’s dating my son”

“you can meet her soon”

ren was hoping his dad wouldn’t meet his friends and ann as he was a bit of talkative about ren and it embarrassed him a lot when he did

it embarrassed him so much that he rarely brought friends over unless they already knew his dad and his eccentric ways

he still remembered the first time he brought his Kyoto friends over

such as the time his dad went into full detail about his time as a small baby

so many embarrassing stories and so many times ren had to hide his face from his friends because of how embarrassed he is

if only ren knew what was about to come 

**_Outside Leblanc_ **

ann was a bit dressed up as she wanted to go out with ren

she wore some attire that she used for a magazine and she thought ren might find her cute

except she wanted to go a bit further than just wearing cute outfits and complimenting each other

although ren made fun of her for getting her info from shows and movies she wanted to try using pet names as it would seemed to be the most logical step to her

she took a deep breath and opened the door

the bell rung and she said while blushing and heavily flustered

”h-h-hey l-love”

although ann stuttered she expected ren to tease her about it or maybe respond back in the same way

except ren looked at her with a dead stare

the same thing with sojiro

what ann didn’t know was that the man that stood in front of ren was his father

and hoo boy was it about to get hectic from there on out

ann stood there silent dying of embarrassment as the man in front of ren turned around

he quickly walked towards her and grabbed her shoulders as he excitedly hoped that this is the girl ren was dating

”are you my son’s new girlfriend? how happy I am to see that someone like you have chosen my little ren and to think he was just a baby yesterday”

”dad, I’m 16!” ren yelled out as he was getting embarrassed

“wait dad?” ann was shocked by all of this and didn’t know what to do

”oh my apologies” he stepped back from ann “I’m ren’s father but you can also call me your dad as I’ll be your new your father in law which makes you my daughter in law”

”d-d-d-daughter in law?!?”

”dad!!”

ann was starting to break as she didn’t know how to handle the rush of emotions she was experiencing at that moment

ren went over and grabbed ann’s hand

”SEE YOU DAD WE’RE LEAVING!”

ren had ran out the cafe with ann in hand

he was about to chase after his son but sojiro stopped him by grabbing his shoulder 

”you nearly killed the kid you know”

”but i didn’t hurt him?”

“physically no, but you almost killed him and the girl from embarrassment”

”did I?”

he was a bit naive to his son’s feelings

sojiro slapped him over the head and he held his head in pain

”your wife told me to do that in case you’d do something like this”

”hehe my bad”

sojiro sighed “just let the kid enjoy life and then he’ll show you what has happened with his life”

”I probably should”

”if you do the same thing with younger one I’ll kill you”

he gave out a hardy laugh “you were always such a joker”

sojiro massaged his brow “I can’t believe I had to deal with you for so long, at least the kid isn’t like you in that way”

”don’t be like that, he’s perfectly fine if he took up my traits”

he gave out another laugh

sojiro prayed for ren

”may god have mercy on that kid”

* * *

_**A nearby park** _

both of them had ran pretty far away from Leblanc

ren felt as this was the perfect place to stop at

ren looked at ann

”I’m sorry..for all of that, my dad is quite a character” ren scratched his Hearn out fo embarrassment

”it’s fine.. I’m really happy right now” ann meant it as she held ren’s other hand and stared back to him

“as long as you’re here, I think I can stay calm”

those words really touched ren

”you mean it?”

”why wouldn’t I? I fell in love with you and only you ren”

they both were about to lean in to give each other a kiss when ann’s phone started to buzz as she got a call

it interrupted the mood as ann quickly fidgeted through her bag to find her phone

she got it and answered it

”hello?”

”oh..right now?”

”ok I got it”

ann closed her phone and looked back at ren

”hehe I’m sorry but I have to do a quick interview with some news network but I’ll talk to you when I’m done so-“

ren interrupted her sentence by giving her a kiss that she wasn’t expecting but she whole heartedly accepted nonetheless

”how about I come with” ren gave a smile to ann as he still held her hand “I wouldn’t want to you be nervous during it”

ann put her head against his chest so that she could feel his heart beat as she knew it was beating for her

”alright, I don’t want to be without you anyways”

“good, then shall we?”

”yes..we should”

they held hands as they went to the meeting place for their interview

* * *

_**SIU Building** _

ren’s father had gone back to do some work after he left Leblanc shortly after ren left 

he decided to go to the SIU building in order to meet with another person also on the phantom thieves case

Sae niijima

he walked down the hallways and stopped outside the director’s office

a conversation between the director and sae had just ended

he saw sae step out of the office and they dated at each other

”sae..”

”hello amamiya-San, so you’ve been put on this case again”

”it’ll be a pleasure working with you”

he put out his hand in order to shake sae’s but she slapped it away

”I don’t need extra help but it seems I can’t change that”

she walked away from him without a second thought

”seems you’ve really have been suffering even now after that incident huh sae..”

she stopped dead in her tracks

she turned around with a cold dead stare and stepped back to him

she spoke cold and dead

”you don’t know a damn thing!”

”because you wouldn’t tell me”

”as if I should!” she turned away “I don’t care if your on the case just make sure you interfere with me”

she walked away leaving the detective standing there empty handed

* * *

_**Sushi shop** _

sae was eating at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant

a week back she had gotten into a fight with her sister makoto 

it was her fault, she took out her anger and stress on her and she blamed herself for it

she decided she’d eat out ever since then it was the best for makoto and for her

”I didn’t think you’d invite me to eat”

”consider it a treat, I also wish to talk to you about something”

”so then, may I ask why you wanted to talk”

next to her was the detective akechi who didn’t mind eating at a conveyor belt shop but was surprised sae asked him if he wanted sushi

“you’re still in the phantom thieves case right?”

”I’m on and off but I am still on the case, why’s that?”

“seems someone else is on the case”

”who?”

akechi took a bite of some sushi

”Kazuma Amamiya”

akechi nearly choked after hearing that name again

after drinking some water to flush out his throat akechi looked back at sae

”are you sure about that?”

”yes, we had a meeting at the SIU building”

”odd, why is he on the case again”

”because he is one of the only people who hold some info about these thieves”

akechi had a serious look

”tch..as if he’d know”

sae noted akechi’s anger towards kazuma

”why do you hate him so much?”

”I’m allergic to amamiyas”

akechi left some cash on the counter

”this is the money for my meal”

”you’re not gonna eat?”

”I’ve lost my appetite so I’ll be going now”

akechi left the shop and he held his head with his left hand in pain

* * *

1.5 years ago

both akechi and ren were in the metaverse in a palace except something was off

both ren and akechi were exchanging blows

they were both at a stand still as their weapons collided

”dammit joker just let me do it!”

”hell no! I cant believe you’d kill innocents like that and then try to tell me it’s right!”

”it’s all to kill that man I don’t care who stands in my way!”

the way akechi said it and how apathetic he was to the fact he killed innocent only enraged ren

he charged akechi with a boost in his speed and attack

”HOW DARE YOU EVEN THINK TRYING TO DO THIS IS OK!!”

ren’s dagger clashed with akechi’s sword and ren was starting to overpower him

”dammit”

akechi slipped under ren’s dagger as he charged towards a human figure who stood by watching this all unfold

”YOU HAVE EVERYTHING! LOSING ONE THING ISNT GONNA MATTER TO YOU!”

akechi readied his sword to impale the figure

”DIE!!”

a metal clang filled the room as ren was able to catch up to akechi in time

akechi’s sword flew out of his hand as ren had deflected it away

ren then kicked akechi directly in the ribs shoving him back a few feet and leaving him in the ground

akechi gasped for air as the kick took it all out of him

some blood escaped from his mouth

ren guarded the figure with his dagger ready to strike

”what are you doing?”

the figure asked confused

”didn’t I do anything wrong?”

”dammit just go already”

”but-“

”you haven’t killed anyone however you need to be more careful and learn about the whole story instead of rushing things”

”well than-“

”thank me later now just go!”

”okay I appreciate it tho-“

”DAMMIT DAD JUST GO!”

”dad..?” the figure nodded and smiled “I’ll see you soon, ren”

ren smiled as the figure disappeared into mist

akechi stood back up while he was coughing a bit more blood

”you have everything don’t you?”

“huh?”

akechi stared to laugh

”you’re so selfish aren’t you!? you’re so selfish yet you’re so weak and useless, almost getting you friends and family in trouble and almost getting your sister hospitalized or even killed”

ren gritted his teeth as if he attacked akechi now he wouldn’t have enough stamina to continue

”but the biggest mistake of all was being so weak that your precious friend is dead now because of your mistakes!”

akechi kept berating ren as he walked over and picked up his sword

”you’re so weak it’s laughable, you even almost let your dear old dad die in front of you and now you’ll be the one to see the light before him”

”but be grateful you’ll at least see your dear old dead friend soon enough and who knows maybe she’ll forgive you for getting her killed”

akechi readied his sword and laughed before screaming

“I’LL KILL YOU REN AMAMIYA!!”

akechi charged at ren

* * *

akechi shook his head as trying to think about it gave him a serious headache

”weak fool, can’t even save those around him”

"he can't save everyone around him yet hell try till the very end"

akechi scoffed at his own comment

" _wimp_ "

akechi walked off as the sun started to set

* * *

_**niijima household** _

it was a bit late in the day as sae had just arrived back him

it was quiet

” _do you ever not think about what would dad do? he’s dead now_ ”

she walked through the hallway as she went past a group photo of a small makoto, a teen sae and a man wearing a badge on his chest smiling

” _right now you’re useless to me_ ”

she started to put her bag in the table

” _I don’t need someone as useless as you eating away at my life_ ”

sae’s words to makoto echoed in her mind

makoto wasn’t around as she had mostly likely had dinner by now and she was most likely studying right now

on the tv stand there was a photo of two men one of them being her dad and the other being another detective both of them smiling as they looked at the camera

sae stood in front of makoto’s door 

she took a deep breath as she couldn’t remember the last time she went into her sister’s room

she knocked on it before entering in

”makoto, why don’t we go out for something..”

she entered her room to find makoto not there

she looked around until she saw a note on the refrigerator

she too it off and read

” _dear sis, I’m out studying so I’ll be a bit late coming home sorry, there’s some food in the pot if you want some_ ”

sae put back the note in the fridge and she opened the pot

it smelled nice as if some real hard work went into it

“maybe I’m pushing her too hard”

sae looked outside to the city night sky as she ate some of the food makoto left

“this is pretty good”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright it’s time I finally introduce sae and some background info into the story and some more dwelling into the story
> 
> Sorry if the bouncing back and forth is annoying I thought it would’ve been cool to change between character and character for a bit if it’s annoying to you guys I won’t do it as much
> 
> Things won’t be as serious as it was in the previous chapters for now but at least somewhat 
> 
> I’m gonna add ren’s father as a character to keep the story going and to have a bit more conversations outside of the phantom thieves’ point of view


	46. Father son bonding

Police station 

kaneshiro was in at an interrogation room as he sat at a cold metal table as he looked down at his hands saddened to what he had done and realizing all the cruel things he’s done over the years

the door to the room opened as detective amamiya entered the room

he sat down across from kaneshiro as he gave a friendly smile

”so kaneshiro was it?”

”y-yes, junya kaneshiro”

kaneshiro seemed shaky as if he was afraid of something

maybe himself?

”so then why did you confess”

”I realized all that I’ve done, how disgraceful I am to society” kaneshiro started to go hard on himself while the detective listened “to think I’ve done so much to some many people is unforgivable and I should die”

”that’s not the way to pay for all the things you have done”

”then how should I do it?”

”take your sentence in stride that’s the only way to truly make up for what you’ve done”

”you’re right..it’s what I have to do”

”now that that’s taken care of, mind you explain some of the things you’ve done”

”I thought I explained all I could”

its been nearly two days since kaneshiro’s arrest and he’s basically given out most of the info he knew 

why he did

how he did it

what he had to do to overcome failure

and all the lives he took in the process

”I don’t mean all of that stuff”

”then what do you mean?”

kaneshiro was confused as he didn’t know what he was pointing to

”I mean why did you confess, what made you do it?”

”I don’t know, something changed within me”

”you said you knew some other bosses around Japan”

he pulled out a document from his inner jacket

he then placed it down on the table

The document laid out this criminal’s descriptions in its entirety such as their looks, height, facial features and crimes they’ve done

”Ohara Genpaku, known for also being a crime lord, although small you had ties to him didn’t you?”

”yes..”

”although you knew he was the heart thief’s first target and now it seemed you were the target of this phantom thieves group”

he then looked at kaneshiro directly

”do you know if these two groups with similar tactics are the same?”

”I believe so..”

”so then, do you know anything that seemed off to you before you were sent that calling card?”

“nothing I particular, just business as usual”

kaneshiro then remembered something

”except for one thing”

”what was it?”

“there was this kid who I forced to work for me and after a while I had people go out and kill the kid”

”a kid?”

”he’s still alive but I forced him to be in my posse”

”in what way”

”me and gen were coworkers as you’d say but not entirely”

”you worked at different cities while doing the same business?”

”essentially”

“carry on, I’m all ears”

he was being very careful with kaneshiro as he’d suffered a mental makeover that the doctors who’d studied the other victims of this these attacks couldn’t even figure them out

who knows what might happen if he were to push kaneshiro too far

“however there was this kid that got involved and I knew about high from gen, so I’m retaliation I made him my slave for my dirty work and I used him”

“you used him?”

”he was just a poor highschooler student and I used him for some grudge I held for no particular reason, he was just annoying”

as kaneshiro kept talking he was being recorded by kazuma who had a tape recorder under the table as he secretly recorded the whole conversation

”he was a highschooler?”

”yes one for an academy”

”do you know what it’s called?”

”I believe shujin”

kazuma’s heart nearly sank as he expected the worst when he said that

could his son ren be the one kaneshiro was talking about

he gulped as he hoped it wasn’t true

”continue..”

“I forced him to run around doing stuff even if he bled”

”even if he bled?”

kazuma was holding back his anger as he really wanted to take his frustration out on him

hoe could his son somehow he tangled int his mess

”how did you meet this highschooler?”

”his friend was being harassed and he stepped in to save her”

he felt relieved to know that ren was helping others out but at this cost he couldn’t grasp the situation as it was all still so strange to him

”anyways, how did you drag him in?”

“I forced him down and took a picture of him next to some illegal substances so I could force him to join me or else I’d leak all of that info”

”and what did you make him do exactly?”

”cleanup work”

”so you made him...”

”I made him harm people and force people’s deadlines if they didn’t have their money in”

the detective nervously gulps as he worried for the worst

“did he kill anyone?...”

no, from what I was told he never killed them only either incapacitate them and or run away before they could attack”

”is there any-“

the watch the detective had on started to ring as he had set an alarm to how much time he had to interrogate kaneshiro

”seems my time is up”

he got out of his chair while kaneshiro still sat there

“it was a good talk we have but I will have to go”

as he was about to leave kaneshiro asked him one last question

”make sure he is safe for me, I’ve done so much to that kid”

“yeah..I’ll make sure”

* * *

 Later

after detective amamiya interrogated kaneshiro he was going to go and ask him son some question

he entered Leblanc with the same smile he always had

”hey soji hows it hanging”

sojiro took offense and responded back “don’t call me that!”

next to him behind the counter was ren who was serving some customers with sojiro’s guidance

”so you’re teaching my son how to make coffee as good as yours?”

”the least the kid could do after all he is staying in my attic rent free”

sojiro looked over to see the kid serve the coffee to the down customers who sat at the bar

ren gave them a smile as he served them

after he served them ren looked over to sojiro

”did I do that right”

sojiro sighed as he chuckled “you did good”

”say ren” ren looked over to his dad “morning letting me have some”

”sure just take a seat”

he took a seat and he observed ren go through the process of making a coffee 

after ren finished he served him the cup of coffee

after he tasted the coffee he complimented ren’s work

”very nice, the taste is very good not as good as sojiro but I bet it goes greater with curry”

”I don’t think the kid could ever make coffee as good as mine but his curry is something else maybe even better than mine”

sojiro taught ren how to make curry whenever he was free before sojiro closed the shop

“thanks boss”

”it’s fine”

ren patted himself on the back as he was able to make some good curry that could be compared to sojiro’s cooking

”anyways ren, I wish to apologize for my behavior yesterday”

”oh! it’s cool”

”well I meant to say sorry for starling your girlfriend and embarrassing you”

”like I said it’s cool and you can meet her but I need you to not embarrass me like that or I’ll let mom know”

ren knew his father’s one weakness which was his mother as she knew how to deal with his dad’s energetic personality

she has dealt with it many times when ren had friends over and caught ren before he could be embarrassed by his father

ren sighed “just try not to scare her like that she nearly got flustered in her work”

”work? she works?”

”yeah as a model”

”ahh so she’s a model” he stood up and smacked ren’s back “nice job snatching one of those up”

ren back away “knock it off dad”

”sorry, sorry overstepped my boundaries a bit”

”just try not to do it again please I don’t want to die of embarrassment”

”well anyways I thank you for the coffee”

he left money in front of ren

”my tab for the coffee, I’ll see you soon ren”

ren picked up the cash as he saw his father leave the shop

as he stepped out his smile turned into a frown

he thought to himself as he stared into the cloudy sky

” _what has ren been doing while I’ve been gone?_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you ask this is most likely the last chapter that ren’s father will mainly take the main stage in and now it’ll be back to whatever ren was doing but I will probably have him as a side character or something like that


	47. Guys day out

Shibuya

ryuji was sitting around an outside table outside of a food court as he was gathered around by the only guy friends he knew

mishima who sat across from him

yusuke who sat on the right of him

and ren who sat on the left of him

he snickered as he already had a plan for their excursion

”so..ryuji-kun who’s this guy?”  mishima pointed at yusuke as they both were equally unaware of eachother’s existence until now 

ryuji slid over and laid his hand on yusuke’s shoulder as his other hand was presenting him

”this is me and ren’s buddy, yusuke, say hi yusuke”

”well hello..” yusuke greeted

ren facepalmed as he already knew where this was going to go

”yes hello I am yuuki mishima pleasure to meet you to” mishima responded nervously

”anyways ryuji what’s this all about?” yusuke asked

”glad you asked” ryuji snickered “we’re having a guys day out”

”a..guys..day out?” both yusuke and mishima said at the same time

ryuji looked proud at himself as if he was announcing something major about himself 

“yep! and we’ll be doing things like hitting on girls and stuff” ryuji announced 

”g-girls?” mishima was already nervous about this as he really hasn’t experienced women before

“hell yeah and some more guy stuff” ryuji said excitedly

”such as?” yusuke was getting a bit more suspicious of ryuji’s plan

”we can go out and do guy things” ryuji dodged yusuke’s question

”and why am I here?” ren was the odd man out as he was the only one with a girlfriend yet ryuji still invited him with the intention of them hitting on girls and other ‘guy things’

”you know full well I have a girlfriend ryuji” ren reminded ryuji

”I know, I know, but you could use this as a way to ask ann out on a date or something” ryuji said smugly knowing full well ren hadn’t mustered the courage in order to do it

this was also a big lie as ryuji only needed ren to ensure that their girl hunting would go smoothly as he’s seen before

“I can already see how this is going” yusuke wasn’t exactly looking forward to this

”wait you’re dating ann?” mishima was the only one who didn’t know ren was dating anyone let alone ann who was pretty much the hottest girl in their school at least to mishima. he didn’t know what the others thought about her

”yeah? you didn’t know, ren got the hottest piece of action in the whole school” ryuji slid over and put his hand on ren’s shoulder as if he was the one who did the work

ren simply glared at him which gave ryuji enough reason to back off

“anyways, I think it’s time we go” ryuji stood up from his seat

”right!” mishima was very optimistic about this situation while the yusuke and ren straggled along

”great...” ren was not looking forward to this day

* * *

Restaurant 

their first stop was a nearby restaurant

it seemed very normal to the group as they entered in

ryuji still had his happy smile on him as they went in and sat at a table

”so ryuji is this our first stop?” mishima said still very optimistic about this plan

“yep, this is where some girls hang around so maybe we could spot some and pick some up” ryuji knew about the women that go in and out of restaurants

ryuji looked over at ren who ordered an iced water

”what?..” ren asked confused to why ryuji was staring at him

ryuji reach over and he took off ren’s glasses and slicked back his hair with some gel he had kept in his bag

”there we go” ryuji said pretty happy about what he did to ren

”why’d you do this?” ren wasn’t thrilled about any of this

”look at you”

ryuji pulled out his phone and had ren look at himself through his camera

”I surprisingly look good..?”

” **surprisingly..** ”

”very nice indeed, maybe I could use this” yusuke was picturing ren and started to draw in his sketchbook

“nice job ryuji, ren looks completely different” mishima congratulated ryuji

”right! so even if he is caught by ann we could just say it’s not ren but it’s” ryuji was thinking of a name for him “Akira!”

”seriously?..” ren was already hating the name

”yep, now you’re good to go” ryuji said proudly

ren was unsatisfied with this name ryuji gave him

”I see now, you look even cooler ren!” mishima was very impressed by this change that ryuji made for ren

“wait! ren stay still while you sip on that water I’m nearly done” yusuke was still drawing

ren had to stay still while yusuke sketches ren in this new look of his

ren was already irrated by this outing they were doing but he was having fun regardless at it was cool to see his friends in such high spirits especially after what happened to him a few days before

”wait look over there ryuji they’re some girls there” mishima pointed to another table and the rest looked over

they saw a group of three sitting by themselves talking to each other

”perfect! let’s roll” ryuji was already amped out

”you guys go ahead I’m almost done with my sketch” yusuke said as he began to put the details in the drawing

”re- I mean Akira, what about you?” ryuji asked

ren was already pissed off by being called that even though it’s only been 5 minutes

”I’m not going, I’ll be in the bathroom” ren stood up from his seat

the three stood up as ren went to the bathroom while ryuji and mishima went girl hunting

as they approached the table ryuji’s confidence slowly dampened

”h-hey ladies how are you doin?” ryuji shuttered

ryuji tried hard to sound cool and normal while mishima looked awkward and nervous in the background

the ladies stared at each other blankly

”we’re cool thanks” one them replied not to thrilled by ryuji and mishima’s presence 

they were in no way interested in the boys hitting on them

“well why don’t we go out somewhere together” ryuji tried to sound as slick as possible but he was starting to lose confidence

the girls laughed it off in front of the two

”I don’t know you don’t seem like our type” one of the girls said

ryuji’s confidence was starting to break as he realized this was a bad idea

mishima stood in the background twiddling his thumbs as he saw ryuji try his hardest so he felt the need to step in

”we’re good guys and we’ll take you to somewhere sweet!” mishima tried his hardest to not sound dorky

ryuji and the girls stared at him as they saw mishima slowly lose his confidence and go back to twiddling his thumbs and looking away

the girls started to laugh loudly

”I think we’ll pass” one of them stated

”alright...“ ryuji hung his head down

mishima looked at them in defeat while ryuji turned back with the same smile he had

ryuji then walked far away enough so that they couldn’t hear him

”we got rejected” ryuji let out his sadness ”damn this sucks..” 

”it’s ok ryuji, we can try again another time” mishima was a bit overly optimistic about the future which confused ryuji as mishima was always the guy to doubt himself first

”I guess so, but it still sucks” ryuji didn’t want to damper mishima’s enthusiasm

ryuji gave a bit sigh as he wiped the sweat off his forehead

”you got rejected I presume”

they two looked over to see ren who had his hair put back down walk up them

”ren, you’re back fast” ryuji remarked

”yeah I needed to put my hair in it’s original state” ren stated 

”ahh man but you looked cool” ryuji didn’t mind the hair change ren had

”alright whatever, but can I have my glasses back I can’t see without them” ren asked

ren held out his hand as he waited for ryuji to give him his glasses back

ren was actually blind without them as he had arsene guide him the entire time he was went to the bathroom so it was a big thing if ren went without them

ryuji had big grin as he swiped ren’s hand away

”in a bit there’s something we’ve got to do” ryuji said with an idea in his mind

”such as?” ren was not happy

”you’ll see”

”but I can’t see” ren jested

mishima chuckled while ryuji had a straight face

”let’s just go back to our seats”

ren had squinted his eyes as they tried to walk back to their seats as arsene didn’t guide him back

yusuke was sitting there sipping a water as he had finished his sketch

”so how was it?” yusuke asked

”we got rejected” ryuji sad as he slumped back into his seat

“as expected” yusuke didn't expect anything to happen 

ren carefully sat down as he was still blind

”ren are you ok?” yusuke asked concerned about ren’s odd cautiousness

ysuuke was weary of the look ren had as he was squinting so much that he looked furious and angry

”yeah I’m good, I just can’t see because ryuji has my glasses” ren told yusuke

yusuke sighed ”so then is that all we’re gonna be doing today ryuji?”

yusuke was surprisingly enjoying himself but he wanted to see where he was gonna take this

”yeah we’re going to..” ryuji was still hung over his rejection

the thing was that ryuji had already placed his chips on whole restaurant thing as he hoped ren would help them pick up girls since it worked the first time

”you don’t know?” yusuke asked

”I kinda hoped we were gonna hang out with some girls” ryuji admitted

ren facepalmed at ryuji’s thinking ahead

”wait I have an idea what about karaoke?” mishima proposed

the three looked at mishima with disgust and disapproval 

“no” ren replied first

”I’d rather not” yusuke went back to drawing

“what kinda guy does that!?” ryuji asked with bewilderment

mishima shot back down in his seat with shame

”how about the arcade then let’s finish up but getting some snacks at the end”

ren thought it as the most simplest answer to how they should spend the rest of their evening

”that sounds fine” yusuke didn’t mind it

”I guess” ryuji went with it

they all stood up and walked off

* * *

Arcade

they each entered on the place and started to examine the area

just like how an arcade should be it was filled with several games whether it’d claw machines, dance machines or your standard arcade cabinet game

“I have never been to this area before, but it’s extraordinary” yusuke never went outside so he was just amazed to see such vibrant colors in one condensed area

”dude it’s just an arcade” ryuji didn’t understand yusuke’s sudden excitement

mishima pointed at an arcade machine with some plastic and obvious fake guns on it “let’s try this one” 

ryuji walked over and picked up one of the guns

”who’s up for a round?” ryuji asked with a grin

”I’m ready!” mishima happily walked over to ryuji and he held the other gun as the game started

so it was ren and yusuke spectating them as the two played

ren viewed yusuke take out his sketchbook as he was drawing the scenery

”you drawing something?” ren said curiously

”I haven’t been able to get any inspiration so I’ve been trying to get something that’ll grab my attention before I enter an art tournament”

”is that why you mainly agreed to go on this trip?” ren asked

”yes, I really didn’t care if any women joined us they might’ve enhanced my pallet and maybe have made me try to see something that I couldn’t previously”

”that’s pretty cool of you” ren then had an idea on his mind “what about we go to mementos”

”that..sounds like a really good idea we should go, but what about these two”

”it’ll be fine”

ren looked back to the two as they had just lost the game as they had died too many times and they had no more pocket change to put in the machine 

“hey guys let’s go somewhere quick”

the two around confused as it’s only been 20 minutes since they arrived

”why now?”

”I think it’ll be a good place for our outing”

the two looked at ren confused as they followed him out of the arcade

they walked back to Shibuya square as they stood theirs the tunnel entrance of the station

”so ren what’s the big plan of yours”

ren gripped mishima’s shoulder “this”

ren pulled out his phone and clicked on a button which made the world around them turn red as mishima gripped on his head in pain

he opened his eyes once the pain subsided and he saw no one besides the three guys he was hanging out with 

“w-where are we!?” mishima was utterly confused as he looked around in shock 

“ren!” ryuji slapped his shoulder “what’re you doing?”

”he knows our identities already he might as well know how we do his requests”

”well I guess, but still you can’t just drag random people in here!”

”we’ll you’re right but he isn’t random”

”he does carry a point there” 

yusuke seemed to side with ren as this was way more interesting than seeing ryuji getting rejected over and over again

”fine then but what’s your plan here?”

”a guys day out and I want to help yusuke with his art problem now come one let’s go kick some tail”

they viewed ren walk down the stairs but all they could do was follow in confusion

as they followed down stairs it started to get more and more red the farther they went down

”guys what is this place-“

mishima looked to the other who changed into their metaverse outfits which stunned mishima to the point of his nearly falling on the floor

”w-who are you guys?”

”mishima, relax it’s just us”

”wait ren?”

”yep but in here it’s joker”

mishima then went pointing at the other wondering what was going on

”then the blonde one is”

”skull”

”ok and the canine is..”

”fox”

”cool, but where are we you haven’t told me yet”

”we’re in the metaverse, where people’s true selves show up here”

”cool..but what about the outfits”

”this is who we are on the inside”

”huh..alright that makes sense I always knew ryuji was a thug”

”I’M NOT A THUG!”

”but you have a pipe in your hand and you have a thug outfit on”

ryuji didn’t want to admit it but he did look like a thug but he didn’t want to admit that

”whatever..”

”anyways it’s time to show you what we go through when doing requests”

ren went ahead first and the other three followed mishima being safeguarded as they went down deeper into mementos

as they went down a view shadows showed up in front of them

mishima saw ren take off his mask and a giant red winged monster pop out of him

”what’s that??”

”our personas the ones within us, our true selves if you may”

ren took out his dagger 

“so then mishima have fun with the front row seats of this show”

”showoff..”

ren beard ryuji whisper that and he only chuckled

”you can get a turn after but I think it would be proper if I went first”

ren rushed forward 

the shadows weren’t all too hard they were just annoying to deal with

after a bit of fighting ren stuck his dagger into the last shadow that stood up after ren’s repeated onslaught on them

rne flipped his dagger back into his pocket

”so then shall we continue forward”

”yes please!” mishima seemed like a child on a school field trip as he wanted to see more of this place which excited him more and more

”alright ryuji you take charge, I’ll guide”

”oh hell yeah!”

ryuji excitingly took charge as he held his pipe ready to attack any shadows that think he could

”it’s so cool that I’m able to hang out with THE heart thief”

hearing that name made ren a bit nervous

”wait you know who I am?”

”well yeah I’ve made the phantom aficionado site a long time ago but it was called something different”

”wait you knew I was the phantom thief and the heart thief??”

”well yeah it’s not that hard to figure it out after all you joined in less than 3 weeks before kamoshida was arrested right?”

”wait that’s how long you knew?”

”well it was obvious the heart thief was based in Kyoto and took think a transfer from kyoto came over here just to pick a fight with the most ruthless person in the school then he miraculously confesses all of his crimes in less than a month after his arrival, that’s too much of a coincidence”

ren was completely speechless that mishima was able to piece all of that together without skipping a signal beat

it kinda frightened ren to how attentive he was

then again the hacker girl also figured out his identity in less than a week

” **you’re too careless~** ”

” _shut up_ ”

” **so that marks how many people that know your identity now?** ”

” _only 2 so shush_ ”

” **I think different** ”

after a bit more of fighting and switching places with eachother they reach a familiar swirly red and black void near the end of a hallway

”i see this is perfect”

yusuke took out his sketchbook and started to draw

“what’s this?”

mishima pointed at the swirl

”that’s where some of our targets remain in until we take their distorted desires”

”do they drop things?”

“Yeah some gems here and there and some familial items but nothing else”

”I see”

“how you doing over there yusuke?”

ren looked over to yusuke who was aggressively drawing as if he had something he really wanted to put out into his work

”yusuke?”

yusuke wasn’t responding to anything ren said as he was so into his painting that he couldn’t pay any attention to whatever they were saying

”seems he’s too focused to listen”

after a couple minutes of standing around yusuke flipped his book around to show his friends

”I’m finished”

the group gazed at the ominous red swirl painting that looked cool to them

”that’s really good”

”yeah looks just like the thing”

“well that’s all I wanted to do for now”

yusuke packed up his book

”is there anything else you want to look at?”

”nah I think I’m fine for now”

they started to journey back into the real world but they had a nice chat on the way

ryuji whispered to ren

”you think he has a persona?”

ren looked at mishima although a shy kid he had his moments but Mishima seemed too much of a pacifist to really awaken like how the others seemed to

”I think he’s fine being in control of the phantom aficionado website, ain’t that right mishima”

”hmm?”

”do you want to be a phantom thief like us?”

mishima stood there and started to think about it

after a while standing there he looked back at ren

”I don’t think I’m cut out for it, after all school life and running the phan site is a big deal I don’t want to fill my plate with too much stuff”

”understandable, make sure you don’t push yourself”

”it’s already tough enough trying to run the site”, I’ll be fine just running support”

”alright just know that you have a tough job to do”

”I know”

”and you pretty much govern who we take down”

”I do?”

”yeah just make sure that power doesn’t go to your head”

”right!”

mishima had his head held high as they left

” **you going soft?** ”

arsene was expecting a defiant no from ren but ren only smiled

” _I think this was the right thing to do_ ”

after that they kept going as they left the metaverse and went back to the real world

mishima seemed a bit more pumped than usual as they departed ways

 


	48. Skepticism

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rewrote some parts of the chapter sooo second take
> 
> Make makoto yknow a nice person after I Amy have jumped the gun a bit but oh well everyone makes mistakes  
> And I make too many

Principal’s office

mr. Kobayakawa was sitting at his desk writing some reports as he had a lot of paperwork to fill ever since the kamoshida incident

the door opened and popped in was the student council president makoto

“you called me?”

”yes I need your full report on Ren Amamiya”

”oh right”

makoto went into her bag and took out a document folder with several papers in it

during the whole time they were dealing with kaneshiro makoto was writing a whole summary on ren

although she knew ren was a good guy there were some thoughts that kept running in her mind

could ren be trusted?

and was ren involved with her father’s death

although it was proven that there was another persona user roaming around the metaverse there was an odd feeling that makoto seemed to feel

while everyone stood there shocked and appalled that there was another persona user killing others with the metaverse

ren was oddily un affected

as if he knew something the others didn’t

and if he did know something he was great at hiding it

as makoto down the summary on his desk Mr. Kobayakawa skimmed through the papers

”as you’ll see I couldn’t find anything else about amamiya-san besides him being an upstanding student and someone who tries to stay out of trouble”

mr kobayakawa looked at makoto shocked 

“a-are you sure?”

“yes, there wasn’t a single thing I could put over him”

”but you could make it up and I’ll give you your recommendation for a top college”

mr kobayakawa was getting desperate as there wasn’t anything he could prove about ren amamiya and if he tried to say something it would be tossed aside because of how wrecked his reputation is and was after the kamoshida incident

now people were starting to think he knew all about what he had done to the students and how he nearly threatened ren who hadn’t done anything wrong

if he tried to submit a report it would just be proven false due to ren’s nearly squeaky clean record

”if that’s all you wanted I’ll be going know, I wish to get into a good college off of my own merits and my merits alone”

she stepped out of the office as kobayakawa sat there displeased and annoyed

”how dare she, she was my last line of defense-“

his phone rang which made mr. kobayakawa nearly have a heart attack

he nervously picked it up as he spoke softly into the phone

”h-hello? sir?”

”n-no I haven’t, but I will soon enough”

”I-I understand I won’t slack off any further”

he put away his phone and started to think as his deadlines were coming up soon

“I’m screwed...”

* * *

Niijima household

it was late as makoto was our doing phantom thief work and studying

she opened her door as she stepped through the hallway

she’s seen the same pictures gathered on the wall over and over again

her 

sae 

and her father

as happy as could be in a family portrait 

until a faithful night when her and sae were given a call about how their father was gone, dead without even a goodbye

he just died after being hit by a driver

but they couldn’t find anything on him

no wound or injury

only some black substance that was found on dripping from his mouth and from his eyes

it’s already been foresighted to be what happens when you experience a ‘mental shutdown’

although the case was settled as a freak accident makoto couldn’t buy it

she knew someone was behind it all

and after ren said he started in the metaverse 3 years ago before her father’s death

ren didn’t seem like the person to kill

but how could she evaluate that?

ren was already mysterious enough from head to toe

his past, his looks, his academic life and his metaverse life

they were all so strange to makoto 

she stepped into her room and pulled out a notebook containing several pictures and data from the place her father died and what the causes could’ve been

this was something personal to her and the main reason she wanted to follow her father’s footsteps

to solve who killed her father and bring them to justice

she flipped through the pages and stopped at a page filled with more photos and notes

in those notes was the description of ren

she knew something was up with him from the start and she tried piecing it all together

she had one single hypothesis that connected it all together

is ren the cause of the mental shutdown cases

so far her idea was starting to be proven uncontested

ren was mysterious

he barely has told anyone about his past besides losing a friend and being arrested

and he’s been in the scene for more than 3 years now

he also hasn’t told anyone about this other ‘metaverse being’

but judging by his body expression when kaneshiro told the group about this other deviant ren seemed guilty

its just there was one thing holding the case back

if ren was some cold blooded murderer who had no feelings

why did he go through such lengths to help the group out?

he saved shiho and ann from kamoshida

he fought kamoshida personally and saving ryuji in the process

he helped yusuke realize the truth about madarame

and he saved her from being harassed by a thug by taking all of the blame and stepping in for her

so why?..

why would someone be such a ruthless killer that he’d save people but kill others at the same time

none of it correlated

btu that wasn’t gonna stop makoto

she knew she could get closer to ren

she knew she might be able to find out more about this individual who seemed to surround himself in mystery to the point of where it seemed like he’d tread on glass every time he walked

it was only a matter of time before it cracked

and makoto was gonna crack it 

this time without the manga book

* * *

The Next Day

Afterschool

makoto was walking down the stairs when she spotted ren talking to ryuji and mishima 

she hid behind the wall as she listened into their conversation

”say ren you want to go out to eat?”

mishima said eagerly

“not today I’m not in the mood”

”then next time!”

”sure”

she saw ren then walk away as he went down the hallway she was hiding in

ren sighed 

“are you still gonna spy on me even after we almost died together a little less than a week ago”

she stepped out of the corner as she looked away from ren

”what’s up? you wanna talk?”

”yes, I’d like that”

“you wanna go somewhere to eat?”

“I think I’ll pas-“

a loud grumble could be hear as makoto hadn’t eaten the entire day so she was pretty hungry thus far

her grumbling also made her blush in embarrassment while ren laughed

“is that a no?” ren said teasingly

”sure why not”

“I thought so”

they left the school building and went to a nearby Big Bang burger for a quick snack

but before they reached bang burger they saw a familiar place that caught makoto’s attention

as they were about to reach Big Bang burger ren saw makoto gaze and at the arcade

”you wanna go a few rounds?”

”I think I’ll pass”

”come on have some for fun life isn’t always about studying”

”i have fun too!”

”oh really..?”

ren didn’t believe the diligent student council president had fun in her spare time

”yes really”

”such as?”

”well uhh...umm..there was this one..wait no...”

makoto seems to be struggling on what was she had done that was fun

”have you at least been to the arcade?”

”I think so, not in recent years but maybe when I was a kid”

“then let’s go!”

ren grabbed her hand as they entered into the arcade

”wait hold on I thought we were gonna eat?” makoto said in protest 

“later, we’re having fun right now”

their first stop was at a galaga machine

”what’s this?”

”galaga!”

makoto stared at ren in confusion

”you know..galaga? the game where you shoot alien spaceships?”

”never heard of it”

”here let me give you some pointers”

ren inserted a coin and let makoto play

“so what do I do?”

”you shoot the spaceships”

”how?”

”with the joystick and the button next to it on the machine”

”like this?”

makoto stared to play although her movements were sluggish and sloppy she was starting to get the hang of it

”there’s so many enemies”

”we’ll that’s because you getting far in the game

makoto was starting to furiously tap the buttons

”uh makoto..?”

she seemed very focused yet she was mashing like a mad man

”makoto?”

ren started to worry if she might accidentally break the machine due to how hard she seemed to mash the button

”makoto!”

”huh?”

YOU LOST

a red screen popped up signifying that makoto had died

”huh I lost?”

“my bad, I was just worried because of how hard you were pressing on the button

”was I?”

ren pointed to the button which had seemed to be a little pressed into the machine

”oh shoot I may have gotten a bit mesmerized”

”it’s cool let’s just choose something a little less hectic than buttons pressing”

ren looked over to the game that ryuji and mishima were playing yesterday

”let’s try that one”

ren pointed at it

makoto looked at it with curiosity 

“what is it?”

”it’s a shooter type of game”

they walked over to the game

”you take the toy pistol and you aim it a the three screen when you see an enemy”

ren inserted a coin and they started playing together

“so what do I-“

am enemy popped on the screen but ren used the fake pistol to shoot it

”what’s you do”

”you point your gun to the enemy and pull in the trigger”

another enemy popped up

”now shoot at it”

”like this?”

she pulled the trigger and the enemy went down

”see? you did it”

”I think I could get the hang of it”

”now you’re thinking”

”let’s do this!”

they kept going in the game and made it pretty far

although makoto was being really loud and was shouting which caused a crowd to form behind them

makoto didn’t seem to notice because of how focused she was in the game

ren noticed and she was going to inform makoto but-

“-REN KEEP YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME!”

he couldn’t tell her anything without her screaming his name so that the game could continue

eventually the game ended as they both had died

”dammit I almost had it!”

”umm miss makoto?”

“hmm?”

rne pointed at the crowd behind them 

“oh! was I too loud?”

”very”

makoto hid her face in embarrassment while ren chuckled

”let’s just get some food like I said we should”

”right!”

they walked out of the arcade and finally made it to their original destination which was Big Bang burger

they ordered their food and sat at a nearby empty table

once they got their food they started to go at it

during the entire time they were eating makoto was glaring at ren while he happily ate his burger

” **she’s staring at you pretty hard** ”

” _is she?_ ”

ren looked at makoto who hadn’t broken her gaze

“ **It’s kinda like when she was trying to spy on you** ”

she still kept her gaze on ren

” _she’s really bad at this_ ”

”anything you need..?”

”I want to know something”

“sure..?”

”your father worked with mine as detectives, right?”

”wait how do you know about that?”

”i read on your files before I joined the thieves”

”ok..good to know”

”I had no choice I didn’t know if you could be trusted”

”well glad to know”

”anyways do you know who detective niijima was”

”yeah, he worked with my dad”

”do you know what happened to him?”

”I don’t believe I do..”

makoto took a deep breath

”he died in a freak accident 3 years ago while he was on a sensitive case”

”I’m sorry to hear that”

”I just wanted to ask”

“..?”

she put her food down and slammed on the table

”do you know why they did it!?”

”I’m sorry what?”

“did I stutter?”

makoto seemed very serious with the topic at hand

”no..?”

”you seem unsure”

”well because I don’t know what your really talking about”

”I think you’re lying”

”how?”

”don’t play games with me!”

makoto really did mean business as ren seemed to only prove her right

”I’m not?”

”fine then if you won’t answer that I haven’t another question for you”

”lay it on me..I guess”

”why did you save us?”

”what do you mean?”

”you saved us from danger..”

”yeah?”

”why did you do it?”

”I’m not sure myself”

ren was having flashbacks when he got his friends in trouble because of ren’s selfishness and when he was yelled at by his dad for doing stupid things and screwing up in school

“maybe to make amends with myself”

although ren answered truthfully as he felt bad for always letting people down and never being there for them

it wasn’t the best answer to give makoto

“I see..”

she stood up and walked away not looking back or saying goodbye

” _why’d she leave?_ ”

” **don’t know, maybe a personal thing?** ”

although ren didn’t know it

he just gave her the most terrible response to her question without even knowing it

* * *

 Niijima Household

makoto was back at her room as she went to her draw and flipped through her notebook filled with info about ren and her father’s death once more

this time to another page

it had pictures notes and one thing statement at the top of the page

’IS REN AMAMIYA THE TRUE KILLER?’

it was written in a bright ren sharpie

below it was several statements

-started back before the first mental shutdown case

-mysterious background

-seems to not show fear

theres were more statements next to them that she crossed out due to them being proven false but she added a new one

-saved us for his own self appeasement

although the claims makoto was making were assumptions and didn’t have much to back up on she felt as this new info was golden and prime for her use against him

except it didn’t at the same time

makoto ripped the page out and crumpled it

she threw it to a nearby trash can but it sadly missed

makoto sighed as she closed her book and stood up to throw away the paper in the can

as she put it in she looked at her desk where a small portrait of her family sat

back then

her family was so happy

although her mom was long gone from an illness her father kept striving forward

he’s really the only reason sis wanted to follow and be just a courageous as him

brave, kind, always on the side of justice

yet at that time

everything changed..

* * *

3 years ago

2 days since the death of detective niijima

makoto was walking through the living room as she had made dinner this time

”sis..?”

seemed sae hadn’t showed up yet

most likely still at work and was coming back late

makoto set the table and put two plates of food on it

one for her

and one for sae

the atmosphere was filled with sorrow and grief

makoto sighed

seemed sae really was running late otherwise she’d showed up nearly half an hour ago

makoto was going to her room to study as she wanted to eat her food with her sister

as she walked back to her room she stumbled upon the door of her sister’s room slightly creaked open

makoto looked through out of curiosity

she tried to look closer but she ended up tripping and opening her door fully and tumbling in

after regaining her balance she stared at the the room of her sister

ot was tidy and still nice looking

she had a desk which had heaps of books on it

makoto sighed as she thought she’d do a favor for her sister and help her clean it up

after all who knows what’s going through her mind after her father’s death

as she picked up the book a small notebook with several post of notes sticking out fell down 

after putting the books back in their appropriate spots she went back to where she dropped the notebook

she picked it up but it seemed out of the ordinary

usually her sister would label her books with titles just a case file or something along the lines like that

out of curiosity makoto opened it

and to her horror she found notes, files, photos all about their father’s death

-cause of death: hit by a truck which caused a huge accident

-reason of death: unknown

-hypothesis: someone dealt with his death

these were some of the things that were written in the notebook

makoto flipped through each and every page to find the same thing

notes and pages all on what happened to their dear old dad who somehow disappeared without a trace

”sis..”

she closed the book and set it on the desk

she turned around to leave her room to see sae standing there intimidatingly

”what are you doing in here?”

”oh! I was just cleaning your desk as you took a while to come back home”

”so that gives you the right to snoop in my room?”

sae was giving off an intimidating aura

”well I just wanted to help you and-“

”why would I need help from someone as useless as you? after all you’re just a child”

”sis I-“

”out..”

”but sis-“

”out!”

makoto gave into her sister’s demands as she stepped out of her room

she turned around to comfort her sis but the door shut loudly in front of her

”sis...”

the door knob could be heard being jingled with as sae locked the door so makoto wouldn’t be able to enter in

she never did come to eat dinner with her

at least not until makoto went to bed

* * *

sae seemed to carry her problems on her

yet she never considered what her little sister would think

she always shut her out

never letting her in

makoto wanted to change that but didn’t know how

she just had to keep following the road that was set for her by the adults

and now she was finally able to let herself free

one step at a time

although she felt suspicious about ren

she couldn’t label him as a villain

no there’s something else

something more that was past ren

and she had to find out 

to finally bring peace between her and her sister

once and for all

but it seems she can’t do it alone

she can’t be like her sister and try to do it all in her own

makoto finally had people she could call friends and now it was time for her to show who she really was

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright the kaneshiro arc is finally at its end and some more things to talk about as the things go forward
> 
> Futaba’s palace
> 
> Ren and Akechi’s relationship to eachother
> 
> And now we have makoto’s determination to find out who killed her father
> 
> It’s gonna be a doozy
> 
> *insert sojiro hoo boy*


	49. Apprentice’s apprentice

Afterschool

haru was at the rooftop fo the school as she was allowed to because she was harvesting vegetables up there

the door opened and out came ren

”you called me?”

”sorry, I just need your assistance with these”

ren looked over to the vegetables

”with what?”

“well you do live in a cafe so I was wondering if your caretaker might’ve wanted these”

”smart idea”

“then help me hoist these”

”alright let me-“

before ren could help haru she had grabbed all of the vegetables with her hands although she was struggling

”do you have a bag?”

”no..”

“there’s some next to me use those”

ren saw how haru was starting to struggle and he quickly grabbed the bags and started to fill them with vegetables

however haru insisted she helped out 

and ren broke after haru’s persuasion and aren’t going on about being a gentleman 

they gathered all of the vegetables and carried on to leblanc

they made it to leblanc with the help of haru’s limo 

they entered in with a handful of vegetables

sojiro watched as they both dumped their vegetables on the counter

”so what’s with all of this?”

”well haru grows vegetables on the roof of the school so we decided we should have the curry master taste test them”

”so the lady grew them?”

“well with the help of ren of course” haru has to clarify because she didn’t like taking credit for herself

”I didn’t really do much though”

”of course you did” haru have a smile to ren while he sighed knowing he couldn’t win against her

”well then let me taste test them”

sojiro took a tomato and cut it up

he examined the fresh piece of tomato he had on his plate

”nice color it’s been harvested at the right time” he took a bite “it’s taste is pretty good for someone’s first time growing vegetables”

”actually I’ve been growing them since middle school”

”then I’d say it’s a good taste for an expert”

”why thank you”

“although you do need to have a bit more work into this, but it’s pretty good nonetheless”

”thank you!” haru replies contented knowing her hard work paid off

”well that’s cool, but what else are you gonna do with these haru?”

”I didn’t think about that”

haru didn’t think ahead luckily she was saved

”why don’t you try to work here”

”you mean it?”

”why not you look like you could use some assistance”

”hmph!” ren seemed pretty jealous that sojiro was being so easy on haru yet the first day he showed up in leblanc he was tough on him

”well then let’s get down to basics-“

sojiro’s phone rang and he answered it

whoever was on the other line was pretty loud although they were still inaudible to ren and haru

” _say arsene what’s going on?_ ”

” **seems to be some kind of threat or something I can’t quite make sense of it** ”

arsene didn’t understand what the man on the other line was saying because he was pretty loud

the only thing he was able to decipher was that wherever they were meeting was somewhere else not in leblanc

sojiro sighed as he closed his phone

“boy!”

”yeah?”

”teach the lady here how make some coffee and curry as she’ll be a part timer here and your new apprentice”

”what..”

”oh joy!”

haru was pretty excited while ren was wondering why sojiro was already playing favorites yet he’d only met haru twice

sojiro stepped out of the shop with his coat and hit fedora on while haru and ren waved him off

once he left haru turned towards him 

“shall we start?”

ren sighed but gave her a smile

”why not”

they went behind the counter and put on their aprons

“so then how do we do this?”

ren took out the supplies in order to make coffee

“alright let’s start with the basics”

“I’m all ears!”

“so first off you have the have the right balance between the blend and what you mix it with”

ren continued on explaining all that he knew about making coffee and different techniques and blends to use

while they were explaining things an old regular customer had entered in the shop

”oh sojiro is not here at the moment”

the lady didnt seem to mind 

”well youngster you seem to be on par with his coffee”

”I don’t think my coffee could compare to his”

the lady looked at haru

”and who’s this young lady? another part timer?”

”yeah there’s 2 part timers now”

ren laughed with thelady

”maybe he’s getting soft”

”I wouldn’t think that”

ren was a little envious on how sojiro treated haru compared to him

”well let me try some of your curry as well”

”coming right up”

ren looked over at haru

”observe closely”

haru nodded as she looked at how ren made the signature coffee and curry combo

once ren finished he had the cup over to the lady

”here you go ma’am”

”why thank you and how long will it take for the curry?”

”only a few more minutes”

”you may need to work on that”

”right..”

ren slumped over back to the other side of the counter

”excuse me while you’re at it can you turn on the news”

”sure”

ren turned on the tv while he went over and started to make curry while haru watches giving pointers and how to make a good curry in between

while they were making the curry the news announcer went on about a breaking news story that caught the attention of both haru and ren

[the criminal overlord junya Kaneshiro after nearly 1 week after being questioned and tried has died due to a mysterious stroke the cause of it is still unknown]

ren nearly dropped the plate of curry he had in his hand 

he passed over to haru who handed it to the lady while ren leaned against the counter and stared at the tv

” _he’s dead?_ ”

” **akechi is back on the case..but how?** ”

arsene couldn’t think of words to say about this situation

“ _how did he know about kaneshiro_ ”

“ **seems he has more of an influence** ”

ren gritted his teeth

” _that phony detective!_ ”

”ren..?”

ren snapped out of his train of thought as he looked at haru who seems to be pretty worried as ren looked pretty deranged

”yeah?..”

”i understand your anger to this other metaverse user but at least look civil about it”

”what do you mean?”

ren was stumped by what she meant

”imagine a dog growling at a mailman and that’s what you look like”

ren looked away a bit flustered

haru then hit his head with a chop

“ow”

”don’t be so hard on yourself”

”hmm?”

”knowing you you’re probably saying to yourself ‘i Let that man die without helping grr’”

haru mimicked ren and she did a pretty good job on it

ren laughed “that was a pretty good impression”

”thanks”

”miss!”

”huh?”

”take this”

the old lady had stood up and gave haru a tip along with the tab that she needed to pay

”for being such a nice lady”

”why thank you”

haru gave a cheerful smile

rej looked in awe as haru waves the lady goodbye with the tip still in her hand

”I don’t even get tips and I made the food” ren said sadly

and just int he right time sojiro was able to walk on the shop although he looked a little stressed he looked at the two a bit surprised

”so you handled a customer”

”yep!”

haru said cheerfully as she held the money in her hand

”and from the stingiest regular we have”

ren’s jaw couldn’t fall more as looked in awe as haru pretty much did the impossible 

“besides that, where were you?”

”not of your business”

”ok..?”

”anyways here’s your pay”

sojiro have money to haru for helping out

”how come she gets paid?”

”because you freeload off of my attic I think that’s payment enough”

“but I-“

ren stood there in defeat

”if you want allowance ask your father, where ever he is”

ren sighed “right..”

haru giggled as she looked at ren as she tried to comfort him

”actually boss..”

”yeah?”

”can I add some baked goods into this?”

”like desserts?”

”mmhmm!” hair nodded happily

”go for it kid, I’m not stopping you”

”thank you!” she turned to ren “you know any desserts?”

”my mom taught me how to make some to ‘swoon the ladies’ so I could crack at it”

”splendid”

”you can do that another time I have to close the shop”

sojrio pointed at the clock which showed that it was already late in the evening

”oh I’m sorry”

haru put away her apron 

“thank you for the assistance ren and boss!”

haru waved the two of them as she left the shop

“to think you got some good friends”

”what’s that supposed to mean?”

”I expected you to be more like your father, luckily that’s not the case”

sojiro started laughing while ren stood there confused

”you still think of me as him don’t you”

sojiro stopped laughing as he wiped his eyes while looking back at ren “yep, you’re still as pesky as him. now go clean up while I wipe down the counter”

”gotcha”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might go back into the last chapter and rewrite it a bit
> 
> I’m still gonna put makoto in that direction I may have just made her a bit TOO malicious with her actions


	50. The First Date: Preparations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well then I’ve somehow made 50 chapters
> 
> How? I’m not sure myself
> 
> I kinda wrote this as a one off joke against one of my friends but to somehow write 50 chapters kinda surprised me on how I far I’ve taken this as a serious thing and not some joke
> 
> I thank you all to those that have read this story and cheers to all that have come this far

Ann’s room

ann was pacing back and forth from her closet to her bed as she was starting to panic

“crap, crap what do I wear??”

”just go with something casual and nice”

on the other side of the bed was shiho who was casually checking her phone

”but I don’t know if he’ll like it!”

”it’ll be fine, ren doesn’t seem to be the type of person to care for stuff like that”

”but I care!”

shiho sighed “you’re hopeless”

”shiho which one should I wear!?”

ann was flipping between dresses and skirts to see which one of them is good

”maybe I shouldn’t have tried to get them together”

“Shiho! help me out here”

shiho groaned as she got up to help ann out

but she couldn’t really complain is this was sort of her idea to begin with

sort of

* * *

Earlier this morning

ren and shiho were walking together during lunchtime as ren needed some advice from shiho

”so you asked the guru for help” shiho chuckled as she said that

“what a way to stir up your ego”

ren was not in the mood to deal with shiho tormenting and upbeat personality

”so what’s the deal now”

”i don’t know how to properly ask out ann”

”eh? what do you mean?”

”well you’re her best friend so could you tell me a good way to ask her out”

”shouldn’t you know”

”I want to be extra sure”

shiho leaned in but also smirked as she had another plan pop into her head

”alright then how about this”

”I’m listening”

”wall slam..”

”are..you sure?”

”what’s with that slight hesitation in your voice!?”

“well are you sure that’ll work”

”oh please she’s already head over heels for you I believe you have a 99.9% chance of scoring”

”you may be right she does blush easily and she does get her romance ideas from the and movies”

”yeah she’s an idiot, but she a kind person underneath”

“yeah, maybe I’ll give that technique a try”

”ooh ohh when you do take off your glasses”

”why?”

“because..” she leaned into ren’s ear to whisper it ”it’s what turns her on..”

she backed away while ren stood there

”have fun~”

she walked away from ren while ren stood there dumbfounded by what shiho told her

”WHAT!..”

” **clever girl** ”

” _what the actual hell.._ ”

” **so then how will you swoon her? oh fellow gentleman** ” arsene tipped his top hat

” _shut it.._ ”

” **I can give you some pointers I am a gentleman thief after all** ”

” _i think ryuji would give me better advice_ ”

” **you dare compare me to him!?** ”

” _I would any day of the week_ ”

” **oh really..** ”

” _try me_ ”

arsene couldn’t believe ren would tarnish his name like that

” **fine then! you’re not getting any help from me!** ”

arsene turned away from ren

ren chuckled “ _good, better that do that a ‘real Gentleman’ could do it by themself_ ”

ren walked back to class leaving arsene behind

” **sly bastard** ”

later that day ren schemed on how he should go about asking out ann as he wanted to see how’d she react

ren enjoyed teasing ann

maybe a bit too much

he sat behind her imagining and nearly getting hit with a chalk in the process for not paying attention

on between the lesson ren got a message from both ann and shiho in different chats

he answered ann’s first

[A: you tired?]

on the way to school ren mentioned how tired and exhausted he was from his jogs he does every morning before school starts

[R: I’m fine]

[A: if you want we could go to a coffee shop afterschool~]

[R: is this an excuse for coffee?]

[A: yes please!]

ann could hear ren behind him lightly laugh so that only she could hear

[R: meet me in the alleyway where we started our trips to the metaverse]

[A: any reason?]

[R: it’s a secret]

[A: ok!]

after he finished his conversation with ann he went to the conversation with shiho 

although he had to be discreet about it otherwise another chalk would be coming his way

after a bit more of the lecture ren finally went to check what shiho sent

[S: are you gonna do it?]

[R: yeah I already asked her]

[S: perfect where you two going?]

[R: maybe to a restaurant I'm not totally sure]

[S: well good luck with that I’ll keep watch from afar]

[R: wait what]

[S: I’ll be keeping watch to make sure you guys get along smoothly]

[R: so you’ll be stalking us]

[S: I wouldn’t call it stalking more of selective viewing]

[R: you’re bored aren’t you]

shiho took a bit to respond probably knowing that ren was right

shiho really had nothing else to do as she sat there in her classroom bored with the only thing keeping her from sleeping was morgana who she stuck in her desk and kept yapping on about stuff

and she couldn’t do volleyball again because it was still in temporary suspension since kamoshida got busted

[S: pretty much]

[R: fine just try not to mess it up]

[S: but where are you gonna ask her out?]

[R: alleyway for perfect silence]

[S: nice]

[S: alright gotta go!]

ren closed his phone just and laughed to himself

”Amamiya!”

”yes!”

”pay attention!”

”right!”

ren got called out by the teacher as everyone stared at him and gossiped to one another

” **should’ve paid attention** ”

” _shut it.._ ”

* * *

Later in the day afterschool

ann was walking out of school heading to the alley way that ren told her to meet in

kind of strange to meet in an alleyway

she pulled out her phone to message ren

[A: hey ren where are you?]

[A: didn’t you say we’re meeting in the alleyway?]

ann stood in there in the alleyway getting a bit worried

”where could he be?..”

”where could I be?..”

ann turned around to see ren without his glasses with a smile that could kill

”hey ren! so what on the agenda today?”

ren slowly walked up to her which made ann a bit nervous

”ren..?”

ann was slowly back up into the wall as ren kept stepping forward

”hey soo...”

she spoke nervously as she didn’t know what was up with ren

she hit the wall behind her as she looked at ren confused on what he was doing

”ren?..are you ok?-“

ren slammed his left hand on the wall right next to ann’s head which made her let out a small yap 

“ren what are you..-“

with his other hand he lifted and carressed her chin and made her look up straight into his eyes

“why don’t we go somewhere” ren said in a low sultry voice

”what do you mean?..” ann said completely entranced by ren

”why don’t we go somewhere nice”

”like..a date?”

”yes..” ren smiled “a date”

ann eyes were locked into ren’s

ren leaned it and whispered into her ear “I’ll pick you up at your place in an hour from now so get ready..”

ren leaned back but not before kissing her on the cheek

”see you then”

ren walked out of the alleyway leaving ann alone with her heart still pounding from ren’s successful attempt to ask her on a date

on the way back to leblanc to go change clothes arsene complimented ren for his seduction tactics

” **I see you really are the charmer** ”

” _you think so? I didn’t think I did that good_ ”

” **what are you talking about? that was a great show you put on** ”

” _I think I may have overdone it_ ”

” **probably, she was trembling a little bit back there** ”

” _might have to tone it down_ ”

” **eh it’s fine, what’s she gonna do to you?** ”

” _choke me and tell me to not tease her_ ”

” **woah ho ho no need to rush this it’s your first date champ** ”

arsene chuckled at his own joke

“ _what’s that suppose to mean?_ ”

” **you’re too young to understand child** ”

” _alright then..I wonder what I should wear_ ”

” **listen, you have the same outfits with jsut different colors** ”

” _no I have another one_ ”

” **still the same** ”

” _whatever_ ”

ren made it back into leblanc in order to prepare

* * *

Present time

Shiho was still trying to find ann something to wear

and she was having some issues with it

while she was looking through her dresses she saw ann stuck in her thoughts

shiho snapped her fingers in front of her face

”earth to ann.. ann respond”

”huh?”

ann woke up from her day dreaming as she looked at shiho who was grabbing her left cheek and stretching it

”shiho..please let go”

”fine”

shiho let go but not without giving it one final stretch

“what were you even daydreaming about?”

ann glanced away blushing

”nothing!”

this ticked off shiho who proceeded to grab both of her cheeks and stretch them again

”tell me now”

”finne eiyll tell you”

she let go of her cheeks which gave ann a chance to rub them as she was in pain

”now then what were you dreaming off that made you lose focus on your date”

”it was how ren asked me out..”

”hmmm..?”

shiho was already intrigued and curious to know how ren asked her out

”he was so cool.. the way he looks without his glasses..the way his hand slammed on the wall next to my head.. and how my heart was pounding as he whispered in my ear”

as ann kept describing it she held her face as she reminisced about it

while she was shiho was backing away in shock as she didn’t think ren would go this far and be so forceful about it. It kind of disgusted her how far he went that she wondered if the police should be involved

”isn’t that sexual assault!?”

”but it was so romantic!”

”I really should’ve reconsidered if ren was the best choice for you” shiho muttered under her breath quietly so that ann couldn’t hear her 

“well where was i..” ann checked the time “oh crap! it’s almost been an hour already here’s probably already here”

a ring on the doorbell could be heard

”crap he’s here!”

ann was started to panic and shiho watched as it unfolded in front of her eyes

she facepalmed “you’re so hopeless”

she walked over and opened the door to her room

”I’m gonna go talk to him while you go and get ready”

”thank you!”

ann was very thankful as she had wasted the minutes jsut trying to find something that would be suited for their date 

shiho closed the door behind her

she sighed and then marched on downstairs

ann’s apartment was cozy 

it was a studio apartment as both of her parents were fashion designers so her parent’s room also doubled as a studio

ann’s room wasn’t all too different it just wasn’t as spacious as her parent’s

as shiho marched downstairs she went to the front door

but before she could she saw morgana peacefully asleep on her couch in the living room

morgana didn’t exactly know about all of this which was peaceful. his ego was too much for shiho sometimes

before she went to the front door she went over and patted his belly which made him purr

for someone who proclaims to not be a cat he acted like a cat way more than a human

she smiled as he peacefully went to sleep

she stepped away to go to the front door

as she walked towards the front she went out to grab the handle

before grabbing it though she hesitated for a little but opened it regardless

she opened the door widely letting the breeze hit her

she stepped out to see ren on her right jsut staring off into the sky with his back against the wall and both of his hands in his pockets

he was nicely dressed and looked very slicked with his long sleeved shirt being loose but thin enough to see the muscles on his shoulders and arms

she sighed as she closed the door behind her and leaned against the wall next to ren

“so you’re ready for this”

”yep”

”excited?”

”yep”

”we’ll then just so you know” shiho walked to ren and pointed at him “you try anything like what you did earlier and I’ll have your head”

”is that a challenge?”

“you don’t want me to call haru don’t you?”

haru was a cheerful person but when she’s in the metaverse morning could stop her axe

that includes shadows

ren laughed at shiho’s comment

”I promise I won’t try to do anything to her”

shiho sighed “she’s carried a lot of weight on her shoulders”

”..?”

she turned away from ren as she opened the door into ann’s apartment 

“just try to go easy on her. she can get over emotional sometimes make sure she doesn’t go overboard”

”...?”

ren stood there dumbfounded

”she trusts you with her life...don’t mess it up”

she went inside and closed the door behind her leaving ren standing there confused

”what was that about?”

” **she cares for her friend** ”

ren smiled “she’s a good friend”

ren sighed as he stared back into the sky

the door swung open and out came ann

her hair was still in pigtails but she wore a blue dress that was covered by a black jacket and some low top blue sneakers

it was a comfy outfit but she thought I was cute enough to wow ren

ren looked at her as she fidgeted in embarrassment 

“so you ready?”

”yeah, I’m ready..ready for this date”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This kinda got long so I’m gonna split this chapter into two parts


	51. The First Date: The steps we take

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was planning to split this once more but this is good enough

Shibuya 

both ann and ren we’re walking down with both of their arms locked

ann looked happy as can be while ren looked a bit embarrassed as he’d never had someone hold his arm like this

ann noticed it and decided to tease him about it

”why are you so embarrassed?”

”I’m not used to something like this”

ann laughed as she held on tighter “aww come on”

”but people keep staring at us”

“they’re just jealous let them be”

ren sighed but kept his head high “right I shouldn’t be such a downer”

”that’s the spirit”

walking a bit farther behind them was shiho who was seeing if their date is going smoothly

she had her bag on her and some binoculars in case she had to spy from afar

out she could hear a yawn come out of her bag

out came some fluffy ears poke out of her bag

”what’s happening?”

morgana pawed at his eyes as he’d finally awoken from his nap

”spying”

”on what?” morgana was curious to know what shiho was looking at but when he looked forward his sadness and depression that he’d slept away returned 

“oh yeah they are on a date as of now, sorry”

”no, no it’s cool I can deal with it”

shiho could hear morgana try to hold back his tears

”he better at least treat her well”

shiho could hear morgana sniffle in her bag

” _at least he finally submitted_ ”

”so are you finally admitting defeat?”

“no! I’m just calling a temporary truce until ann eventually dumps ren”

” _at least he’s an optimist_ ”

”how are you so adamant about that?”

”because I know that when the time comes she’ll dump ren and choose me”

”if only I had such high dreams”

too bad shiho has to endure sad morgana for the rest of their trip

on the trip to their first stop they passed by a crepe shop

ren could see ann drool and he laughed as he patted her head

”I’ll get you your favorite”

ann only smiled as she saw ren go over and ask for a crepe

he came back with a huge crepe which he gave to ann

”thanks!”

ann happily munched on her crepe as she squealed in excitement and joy

ren smiled at her as she looked cute while eating it

”want some?” ann said in between her bites

”I’m good”

ren declined but ann didn’t accept that and she proceeded to a put some of the crepe into ren’s mouth

”how is it?”

”it’s good..” ren said in defeat

“exactly!”

ann giggled as her and ren shared the crepe

after they finished their crepe they moved along to their next stop

as the moved along they went past the arcade where they saw both ryuji and mishima playing at one of the machines

”aww damn we had such a good score”

”sorry about that ryuji-kun”

”it’s cool we jsut have to try harder”

”right!”

they both had just lost and were about to try again until ryuji saw in the corner of his eye ren with a girl holding his arm

”hey ren!”

”oh..crap..”

ren wasn’t expecting to see ryuji especially now

ren was cringing as ryuji walked to them

“hey ren whatcha doin?”

”what does it look like”

ryuji looked at the two of them and tried to piece it together

”you’re on a date”

”wow I’m surprised you were able to piece it together” ren said in a sarcastic tone as he didn’t want to see ryuji today

”whaddya mean I'm pretty smart”

“considering you were the one with the lowest midterm score in our group I don’t think you really are”

”come on man I have my moments”

“not recently”

ryuji looked over to ann for some reassurance

”ann you know I’ve done some pretty smart things”

“no”

ryuji was immediately shot down by ann who had her arms crossed as she wasn’t delighted to have him interrupt their date

“jeez you don’t need to be so cold”

”ryuji! hurry back I got more coins!”

mishima was calling ryuji back so they could start another game

”alright I guess I should..”

ryuji got a buzz from his phone and he went to check it

he opened his phone and saw the message was from shiho

[S: go back to mishima or else another thing will be coming to you -morgana]

[Ry: was that only from him]

[S: no I was gonna beat you into a pulp]

ryuji looked behind the couple and saw both shiho and morgana a bit further away so that ren and ann wouldn’t notice and both of them were staring into ryuji’s soul

”hehe...I’m gonna go back now have fun on your date”

ryuji instinctively went back to mishima otherwise he may not come back home if shiho got to him

the two continued forward after they saw ryuji sink back into the arcade

“good, now let’s continue”

”agreed”

they walked a hit further to a nice looking cafe

they were both highschool students so they couldn’t exactly cash out at some big restaurant

this cafe was different than other cafes as it was a bit fancier than most

but before they could enter in someone other than shiho spotted the couple

”ren my boy!”

shiho looked to her left and saw a man with a brown overcoat walking over to the two with a happy smile while waving his hand

he looked a bit like ren but shiho still didn’t know who he was

both ren and ann didn’t notice him but shiho had to take action otherwise he’d interrupt their date

”he’s gonna disturb the two”

”I swear if I find out who he is I’ll claw him”

”I have to stop him”

”please do he can’t disrupt ann’s day”

both shiho and morgana didn’t know who he was but weren’t gonna allow their date to be disturbed

shiho stepped out and approached the man before he could continue any further

”and who must you be?”

shiho questioned the man

although she was prepared to get in an argument there was an opposite effect that shiho wasn’t prepared for

the man gasped

”are you one of my son’s friends?”

”I’m sorry what?”

”how long have you been friends with my son? are you friends with his girlfriend? how close are you two?”

he just kept sprouting questions left and right which made shiho confused, flustered and clueless all at once

“shiho I think you should talk to him if he says he is his father than it might be better to talk to him and trust him for bit”

morgana gave shiho advice which made shiho groan

she had to deal with this man who is most likely his father 

but she had to pull through for ann’s sake 

she sighed before speaking “yes I’m friends with your son” she crossed her arms as she mentally prepared herself for his barrage of questions “so what do you wish to know”

ren’s dad couldn’t have smiled more as he was able to learn all about his son’s life outside of home

Meanwhile inside the cafe both ann and ren ordered something to eat

they sat at a small table with their seat across from eachother

the cafe wasn’t filled with people so they could soak in their environment more easily

”hey ren I’m gonna go to the bathroom real quick eh right back”

”gotcha”

ann stood up out of her seat and went to the bathroom

while ren sat there with an iced water on of the waiters gave him he got a message on his phone

[S: your father is a pain]

[S: how did you grow up with him???]

” _what does she mean?_ ”

” **she met up with your father** ”

arsene nearly spooked ren as he popped from the wall like a ghost

” _what do you mean?_ ”

“ **it seems she saved your life** ”

” _I guess that’s the best answer I could get_ ”

” **but I didn’t explain anything..** ”

” _I know my dad and I know exactly what he’s done_ ”

” **impressive** ”

” _eh, it’s more of just I’m used to his habits_ ”

after a while the food came out and so did ann as she sat down back at her seat

she was drooling as she stared at the delicious food in front of her

ren laughed at her “you gonna eat it or are you just going stare at it”

”I’m gonna eat it”

ren picked up his fork and took a piece of her food

”hey!”

”I thought you were gonna eat it”

ann pouted “fine then I guess I’ll eat yours”

before ann could pick up some of ren’s food he already had some on his fork and was about to feed it to ann

ann gave in and ate some of his food which prompted a squeal of joy from ann

”good right?”

”no fair I want more”

ann sat there with her eyes closed waiting for another bite

while she sat there ren took a few sneaky bites out of her food before giving some of his

“there you go”

she gave out another squeal before opening her eyes

she looked at her plate of food which was nearly half eaten

”ren?”

”mmhmm?” ren had his mouth stuffed with food

”did you eat my food?”

ren took a second to respond as he swallowed the mouthful of food he had

”you didn’t say I couldn’t”

ann saw this as a declaration of war from ren as he say there laughing while he chewed on his food

”fine then”

she and picked up her fork and took some pieces out of ren’s plates

”now we’re even”

”fair enough we took half of eachother’s food before finishing ours”

”that makes sense”

the two finished their own plate of food and left the cafe once they finished

”what’s the next stop?

“why don’t we go on a little boat across the small lake in inokashira park“

”that sounds romantic let’s do it”

“coming from you I’m not too sure”

”don’t worry I read a magazine on the best things to do on a date”

ann sounded proud of that statement

”ann you just proved my point”

”I still wanna go”

”alright then, let’s go”

ren held her hand and they made their way to the park

they entered in and got a boat to go across the pond

after getting a boat they started to float along the water

ren rowed into the middle of the pond and they both took in the nice beautiful scenery

“I didn’t think there was nice scenery in Tokyo”

”you’re still adjusting to this place?”

”I really haven’t been to many spots around in this place”

”there’s this shrine place that’s really cool”

”maybe we can go to that some other time”

”you don’t want to go to there?”

”I have other ideas”

”for this date?”

”where else?”

”I see you came prepared”

”well” ren held hands with ann and both stared straight into eachother’s eyes “I wanted to make our first date special”

ann smiled at ren “I really thank you for dealing with me”

ren chuckled “there wasn’t anything I really had to deal with besides having a cute girlfriend by my side”

ann giggled “I’m glad I could be yours”

”same here”

both were about to lean is sealing their lips into one another 

“CEASE YOUR FIDGETING!”

a loud screaming broke the two up and they separated with their faces red as beets as they wondered where the voice came from

floating near them was a blue haired painter with a huge canvas on their boat as he looked at the two trying to visualize the painting he was trying to nab

”y-yusuke?”

“please revert back to that position you were just in I may be able to capture something that might spark my artist creativity”

”what’re you doing here!?”

”I am experiencing an artist’s block so I need something to help fix that”

”so you’re stalking us?”

yusuke looked at him confused “stalking? I’m merely trying to replicate the emotions i see emitting from you”

” _he’s just a clueless as always_ ”

ren facepalmed “listen I’ll help you do this another time but can you please not disturb us?” 

“I cannot I need to submit a piece so please stay still”

ren groaned

the two sat there embarrassing while yusuke painted them in his canvas

”is it done?”

”it needs more time..”

ren was internally sobbing as he did like holding hands with ann but it felt embarrassing to do it now

”how about I finish this at a later date then I’ll send this to you”

”YOU’RE JOKING!?”

”joking no I am a painter not a joker”

”yusuke we’re on a date!” ann couldn’t hold it in anymore yusuke’s cluelessness and eccentricity was too much

”oh was I intruding?”

”yes!!”

both ann and ren said at the same time

”well I thank you for the time you gave me and I’ll finish it at a later date”

yusuke rowed back to the dock to park the boat while ren and ann sat there

”hey ren why don’t we go to that last spot on your list”

”yeah the mood has been ruined”

”agreed”

ren rowed back and they both left the boat together

both went on as ren lead ann to their last and final stop 

Oidaba seaside park

ren lead ann over inside as ren had one particular place he wanted to go to first 

the Ferris wheel

while he was in the subway and had some time to kill he’d read a magazine all about Tokyo to know some of its attractions one of those being the seaside park 

even though he was pretty doing what ann does and reader has magazines for date tips he saw that the Ferris wheel was pretty good place to end dates

they entered into and soon enough they started their ascend upwards

they sat together holding hands as they looked straight ahead not knowing how to start

”this is a pretty cool spot”

”have you not been on a Ferris wheel?”

”actually I haven’t”

”so you just assumed this was a good place for a date”

”well yeah”

ann giggled “yet you complain when I get my info from TV and movies”

“well yeah it’s kinda dumb”

”but I haven’t dated anyone else..I don’t really know how this works”

”guess we have to take it once step at a time don’t we?”

ann held his other hand as they locked eyes with one another “I don’t mind that”

they leaned in with eachother and were able to kiss eachother without any interruptions 

no yusuke or ryuji to disrupt their fun

they didn’t release from eachother’s grasps until the announcer on the Ferris wheel announced that they were starting to make their descent downwards

they smiled and blushed as they still had their hands connected unable to let go of eachother

”hey ren?”

”yeah?”

”if feels good to finally not be on stress mode huh”

”what do you mean”

“you weren’t able to rest during that entire ordeal”

ann gently put her hand in his cheek and smiled at him

”don’t make me worry like that again, ok?”

”ok..”

”that was sincere enough”

ann started to pull on his cheek

”ok!”

she let go and giggled to herself

”that is all”

the Ferris wheel finished its journey all around and the couple got off once it landed

ren yawned as it was alright starting to get dark

ren could feel ann lean on his back as she only muttered two words

”carry me”

ren only smiled as he allowed ann to receive a piggy back ride

they made it back to the station and were able to find a seat

”so then was this a good date?”

ren asked ann but ann seemed to fall asleep leaning on his shoulder

once they stopped ren carried ann back to her house as she quietly slept sometimes muttering a word which made ren chuckle as it was very cute to hear

he carried her all the way up to her apartment but another issue popped up

how was ren supposed to open the door

he didn’t want to put ann down on the ground as she was sleeping soundly and didn’t want to disturb that

he could try to get into her bag but it was going to be a huge effort for his right hand 

“need a hand?”

ren looked over to see shiho holding a key in her hand

she walked over and gave it to him

”it’s a spare key to her apartment, she lent it to me a while back”

”thanks”

”her room is the upstairs the first one on the left”

ren opened the door and entered in

her house was modern and it looked nice compared to ren’s attic

although it was too dark to see some of the details his third eye was able to at least see some of the details

” _making good use of my third eye_ ”

he continued upstairs and entered Ann’s room

he couldn’t make much of what he saw besides the amount of stuffed animals on her bed

he gently placed her down on her bed and placed her bed covers over her

after doing so he gave her a kiss on her forehead and exited her room as well as her apartment

as he left he closed the door behind him locking it in the process

he looked to shiho who was leaning against the wall with her hands in her pocket as she stared at the dimming sunset

”so you met my dad?”

ren was curious to shiho’s experience with his father

”how did you deal with him?”

”it’s not deal with him more of how did I tolerate him”

”the amount of questions he threw at me was insanity”

”it’s hard to deal with it”

”he’s a good dad and all I mean he cares for you a lot but I think he’s pushing it”

”yeah a little”

shiho sighed “I’m gonna go now” she stood up straight and was about it to walk away from ren

she stopped dead in her tracks

”hey ren?”

”yeah?”

ren could tell shiho was about to say something personal as her voice was getting heavier as if she was trying to hold back tears

”am I good a friend to ann?”

”what do you mean of course you are”

”I mean if it wasn’t for me joining the volleyball team she wouldn’t have had to nearly sleep with kamoshida”

ren could tell some tears were slipping through

”I just stood there letting ann suffer for me all because i wanted to play some stupid sport”

shiho was really beating herself up with regrets and insults

”the only reason I wanted you two together is because I couldn’t help her myself”

shiho wiped her eyes

”I’m such a bad friend huh?”

ren walked forward at rubbed her head

”you’re not a bad friend if you care so much about them”

shiho wiped the rest of her tears as she smiled although she was faced away from ren

”I guess I was right about you”

”in what way?”

she stepped forward then turned around with a huge smile on her face

”you’re a person who inspires change in people and I appreciate you for that”

she walked away from ren while he stood there silent

”am I?”

ren stood there thinking for a minute then he walked back to the station in order to go back home


	52. Devilish reporter and the fortune teller

Evening

ren was returning from a trip into mementos when he gets a message from an unknown person

[O: hey are you the guy who I could get the big scoop from?]

” _who?_ ”

” **remember when shiho and makoto went to shinjuku to meet up with a reporter** ”

” _yeah?_ ”

” **that’s who** ”

” _ohh_ ”

ren basically already forgot who this person was as they never met them before 

however he did promise to at least give this person a scoop on the school

[R: so you’re Ohya Ichiko]

[O: that’s me!]

[R: uhh sure where do you want to meet?]

[O: meet me in Shinjuku search for a place called crossroads bar]

[R: alright]

” _it’s been awhile since I’ve been to Shinjuku_ ”

” **when you weren’t a hit man for kaneshiro or peacefully coming there** ”

” _I don’t think I’ve ever actually been to shinjuku_ ”

” **eh it’s fine let’s just meet this person and go** ”

” _right!_ ”

ren took the train into Shinjuku into his casual clothes

he looked like your average college student just coming over to Shinjuku for some “fun”

he passed by cops with ease as they didn’t suspect him

he kept walking on to the location of the bar

he found the bar which was tucked in a small corridor

he stood in front of the crossroads bar in his casual attire as high schoolers weren’t allow in Shinjuku and in a bar so he’d better be careful with how he acted

he was overly cautious as he entered the bar to only see an a very concerning sight

”Lala-chan! one more on the rocks!”

an obviously drunk women with glasses ok her head was waving an empty glass in the air and she happily yelled

“you’ve already had two you’re not getting anymore”

the lady behind the counter who seemed to be the owner for some reason knew this girl for what seems to be a long time

”come on don’t be such a party pooper”

”aren’t you supposed to meet with some kid shouldn’t you act like a proper adult”

”I’ll manage”

 the lady behind the counter looked to the door and saw ren

”arent you a little young to be in a bar”

the girl with glasses on her head seemed to somewhat know ren

”Lala-chan he’s with me”

ren stepped forward and passed by lala and sat near the reporter

”awww come on I don’t bite!”

” **I like the cut of her jib** ”

she took another swing at her drink that Lala had just given her

”hey Lala-chan are you sure this isn’t just water with ice in it?”

”I’m certain of it”

”cause if it is just water I’ll write an article that’ll put you into the ground, ya hear!”

”of course I can I’m on the other side of the counter“

”well you better otherwise I’ll put your business in the ground with my next article”

her speech was slurred as she took another big swing from her glass of water with a lemon slice in it

she finished it slammed it down then looked at ren

”so kid you’re the guy I can get the big scoop from”

”yeah..?”

”well let’s talk more privately about this matter”

she stood up and ren followed her to an empty table

they both sat down so that they could have a peaceful chat about shujin

she took out a small notepad and pen

“I got some info from the chick with a ponytail from last time and she said you were a good place to see where this kamoshida fellow got his anger from”

” _she probably means shiho_ ”

”I guess I could help you”

”so far it’s pretty juicy, the teacher harassed me and my friend sexually and he’d routinely hit me out of anger like I was his punching bag. that was just an excerpt from what I have so far”

“well since I transferred he’s pretty much treated me like dirt”

”ooh in what way?”

”he’d harass me and tried getting me expelled once”

”what kind of harassment”

”he spread around a rumor about me using one of the students he coached as a way to spread it and then everyone had avoided me”

”did it bother you?”

”sort of but I’m sort of used to being an outcast”

”I see”

ohya was taking notes of this conversation as it went on

”then what?”

”the phantom thieves showed up and took care of him or something”

”these phantom thieves their motives and actions are similar to the heart thief in Kyoto”

”I guess their tactics really are similar in sense like that”

seems this isn’t the first time ohya had been studying about this topic

ren didn’t clearly know it but his heart thief alias from before he went to Tokyo was catching up to him quite fast so he’ll have to be careful otherwise a new person might be added to the list of people who know who ren really is

“you know seeing as how you go to shujin and you know extensively about kamoshida how about you help me write this”

ren already wanted to decline the offer but arsene has persuaded him to accept it

” **ren this could be a chance to up our popularity amongst the crowd** ”

” _I really don’t want to accept this_ ”

” **listen the more popularity we get the better of a chance we get for akechi to respond to us and maybe any other adults can have their own change of heart** ”

” _but I have to listen to this drunkie reporter_ ”

” **do you want to get akechi for all of his misdeeds or not!?** ”

” _fine.._ ”

”alright I’ll do it”

”thank a million!” she put her arm over ren’s shoulder “Lala-chan two drinks! oh wait make one of them a glass of water, our young guest here isn’t old enough for a drink”

ren spend a bit longer hanging out with ohya even though it wasn’t his intention

after he was able to free himself from her clutches he left the shop but not before Lala approached him

”hey sorry for her ‘personality’ “

”it’s cool”

”of you want you can come back here and work if you have any free time you’d be perfect for the crowd here”

”wait I can?”

”yeah judging by your looks” she scanned all of ren’s body from head to toe “you could help out nicely and I’ll teach you some bartender skills as well”

” _sounds like another sojiro type deal_ ”

”alright I’ll do it”

”come in when you can kid and I’ll help you”

”thanks”

ren left the shop and went on his merry way

as he kept walking he saw in the corner of his eye a lady sitting at a table with a bunch of tarot cards telling someone their fortune

the person left shocked and satisfied with their answer and they got up and left

” **hey! maybe you should do one of those** ”

” _I don’t really believe in fortunes since I can change people’s heart_ ”

” **don’t be like that ren who knows what your fortune might be** ”

ren sighed

” **it can’t hurt that bad** ”

” _I’m still not doing it_ ”

“ **don’t be so boring** ”

ren groaned

” _fine I’ll do it_ ”

he walked to the table and the lady behind the lady looked up at him

“why hello are you here for a fortune?”

she greeted him with a smile

”yeah I’ll take one of those fortunes”

ren sat down at the table

”my name is Chihaya Mifune and I’ll be taking your fortune”

”thanks”

”it’s not often I get young men at my fortune telling table”

”really?”

”yeah i usually get older folk and teen girls at my table”

”that makes sense”

”anyways you want your fortune to be told no?”

”yeah I want it to be told”

”then are you prepared, fate is absolute after all”

” _I beg to differ_ ”

”yeah I’m prepared for it”

“then oh divine spirits please bring this boy’s fortune!”

she began her fortune telling process and ren observed carefully

” _fate isn’t absolute_ ”

” **do you really think fate isn’t absolute?** ”

” _I can change people’s hearts I think I can say fate isn’t absolute_ ”

” **whatever you say** ”

Chihaya kept going with her fortune telling process and she picked up another card which left her with a satisfied smile

”head home immediately no detours and you’ll see 5,000 yen awaiting for you there”

”5,000 yen?”

”yep”

”are you sure”

”fate is absolute after all”

”alright”

before ren could stand up Chihaya stopped him

”wait there’s something else too”

”hmm?”

“There’s a general flow of your future being told to me”

”what’s it say?”

chihaya’s look happiness and contentment went to shock and sadness

”I see...”

”what is it?”

she looked straight at ren

”you will die soon in the near future”

ren didn’t take it serious at first

”what do you mean?”

”you will die in the upcoming months but I sense something happening before that”

”like what?”

”there is a storm dwelling inside your heart that hasn’t subsided”

”a storm?”

”a dungeon chaining someone down from ever escaping and a monster trying to desperately claw its way out”

the way chihaya said it made ren shudder

”if you’re not careful you will die but fate can’t be changed so try to live your life the best you can”

”alright I’ll do just that”

ren still didn’t take this as a serious threat maybe just a coincidence

”fate isn’t always absolute”

“fate can’t be changed you might as well heed my warnings”

”alright then I will but I won’t die I’ll make sure of that”

”then I wish you the best of luck”

chihaya sighed as she went back to set up for her next customer

ren left the booth and chuckled to himself

” _like that’ll happen I can overcome fate can’t be that hard_ ”

” **ren..take this seriously** ”

” _i have changed people’s hearts arsene I think I can handle it_ ”

arsene sighed

” **oh ren** ”

ren took the train back home exactly like how the fortune teller told him to

he entered leblanc and saw a happy sojiro standing behind the counter

”what’s up with you? you get a date or something?”

sojiro had a huge grin on his face as he looked at ren

”hey kid how’s your allowance”

”pretty alright, what about it?”

”then..” sojiro slid some yen to ren “consider that a gift”

”money?”

”5,000 yen in total”

as sojiro said that ren’s heart sank

”you wouldn’t believe it went to the convince store and they gave me a scratch ticket and i could not believe it, it was a winning ticket and I got some nice money out of it”

as sojiro was talking ren stared at the money in his hand

” **looks like she was right** ”

”thanks..really appreciate”

”well I’m gonna close up shop, you can get to it”

sojiro left the shop leaving ren to stand there by himself

he locked the shop up while ren still stood there silent

he went upstairs then placed the money in his workbench

ren took a deep breath as he had to take in what just happened

”you don’t think it could happen right arsene?”

” **where’s all that flare you had earlier?** ”

ren was starting to slightly panic

”I’m gonna die in the future..”

” **ren..** ”

”yeah?”

” **you said it yourself fate isn’t always absolute, which means you may be able to avoid that fate and live** ”

”you’re right about that but..”

” **but..?** ”

”thinking about it that means we’ll have to encounter akechi right that’s the only way that I see how I may die”

” **akechi did vow to kill you so it’s definitely plausible** ”

ren tightened his fist and slammed it into his palm

”I guess I’ll have to be extra prepared for when that happens, fate isn’t absolute I’ll prove that by overcoming those odds!”

arsene chuckled “ **you’re tenacious kid no wonder I’m your inner self but let’s save the training for later we have to rest in order to be ready for anything** ”

”right”

ren sighed and then fell into his bed

before he went to bed he picked up his phone and opened it

he scrolled through into his camera roll and looked through the pictures he had

of his family

his friends

and ann

”I won’t lose..no matter what!”

arsene sighed as there was one thing that stuck into his mind

a storm in ren’s heart that isn’t subsiding

a dungeon chaining someone down from ever escaping

and a monster trying to claw its way out of something

“ **peculiar** ”

somehow all three of those statements correlated with ren and his death but what could that mean?

seems as something neither ren or arsene would come to learn until later

maybe they could find out more info about it soon enough

ren’s life was on the line and now a deadline was in place for them both 


	53. Track star

Afterschool

ryuji and ren were at their usual ramen meetup spot as they’ve been practically going there nearly everyday

after ryuji finished his second bowl of ramen he looked over to ren who had just finished his first

”come on ren you gotta slurp faster”

“dude you have a bottomless pit for a stomach I don’t think I could compete with you like that”

ryuji patted himself on his back but he had something else budding in his mind

”hey ren why don’t we go train together again we haven’t done it for awhile”

”sure any place in mind?”

”I kinda want to go back to school I had a whole training spot there too”

”you do?”

”yeah! I used to train back when I did track..track huh, wonder how my team is doing”

”I forgot you used to do track”

”yep! I was the best in it too”

”so then shall we go?”

”hell yeah!”

”but before we go you have to lay the tab”

”wait why?”

”your turn to pay the tab”

ryuji and ren took turns paying the tab when they ate out which took a toll on ryuji’s wallet as his allowance couldn’t handle it

”hey ren..can you slide some extra cash?”

ren sighed but chuckled “maybe get a job and you wouldn’t be having this problem”

ren slid some cash to ryuji and they left once ryuji paid

”I can’t get a job though”

”convenience store is hiring”

”that’s not what i meant”

”what do you mean”

”I don’t want my mom to be all haphazardly about me that and I can’t help her at home when she gets home”

ren turned around and smiled to ryuji who had a somber look on his face

”I think your mom would gladly allow you to have a job”

”I don’t know man it’s just I don’t want to leave her alone I’m her only son after all”

”you’re a good dude but you’re still paying for ramen”

”aww come on man”

”no excuses”

“let’s just go and train”

the both of them continued back to the station and made it back to shujin

after changing into their gym clothes they went to ryuji’s training spot

ryuji guided ren to his spot while talking about his old training regimen

”so then mishima told me about this guy who hacks on games and I thought we could try to-“

”well well well”

ryuji looked in front of him to see 3 three guys standing where ryuji’s training spot was

the one in the middle with brown hair looked at the two of them and pointed straight at them

“if it isn’t Sakamoto”

“n-Nakaoka? Takeishi?”

ryuji looked really surprised while this Nakaoka person looked ticked off as he stared at him

”this is our spot now so scram unless you’re gonna bring the team down again”

”you little-“

before ryuji could get more angrier ren stopped him

”weren’t you guys teammates shouldn’t you I dunno support eachother?”

”tch..like some punk like you would understand you’re just some delinquent who’s still in school because the judge gave him a second chance”

”and what are you?”

”an upstanding student of course!”

”with a below average midterm score and some problems academically”

”you son of a-“

”you’re still treading on the fact ryuji somehow let you team down yet ryuji has been improving ever since, I know you’ve seen him run”

ren had remembered Nakaoka’s face from when both ryuji and himself were running once

he looked a little ticked off seeing the team’s star who fell from grace running once again

nakaoka was backing up because he knew ren was right deep down but didn’t want to admit it

”not only that you know deep down that kamoshida was some tyrant asshole yet you simply accepted it, you knew for a fact he was trying to destroy the track team”

”like you have anything to prove that”

”so you just admitted to knowing it?”

Nakaoka choked on his words as ren set up a trap and he just took the bait

”whatever..not all of us are a some convicted criminal who aren’t afraid of jail, let’s go”

he looked to the other two guys he had with him and they followed him out of the courtyard

ryuji looked to ren with his jaw dropped “jeez you can really let loose if you want to”

”I’m not some ‘convict’ for a reason”

ren laughed at his own joke

”I’m not too sure about that but I appreciate you sticking your neck for me”

”it’s what friends do isn’t it?”

ryuji chuckled “thanks man I appreciate all of the things you’ve done for me”

”anyways are we gonna train or are we gonna stand around”

”yeah! let’s push it to 3 kilometers today”

”alright that sounds like a plan”

after some quick stretches both ren and ryuji went over and ran for a while

ryuji was outpacing ren as he’s been able to recover from his broken knee to the point to where he can run like he used to although he still had to get back to how he used to be as he was still on the way of getting back to where he was

ren on the other hand was struggling to keep up

ren had both of his hands on his knees as he went to get a breather

ryuji who jogged around him taunting him as he did

”come on ren you were always on my case for being so slow”

ren in between gasps responded to ryuji’s retort “i..can’t...match your...speed”

”I guess I’m the fastest one here heh”

”I guess you are but that doesn’t mean I can’t overthrow you”

”you want to challenge me huh?”

”why not what’s the worse that could happen?”

ryuji grinned as he admired how ren could keep going even if he was at a disadvantage

another 3 kilometers later

ren was on the ground his hands and knees keeping him up from laying on the ground sweat pouring from his head and scalp and his shirt drenched with sweat

ryuji who was tired as his endurance wasn’t as good as ren’s was starting to take a toll on him

”so..you...admit defeat yet?”

”hell...no..”

ryuji grinned as ren wasn’t the type of guy to easily give up it seemed like he’d keep going to prove a point or to show how far he’s willing to go and he wasn’t willing to back down either

”alright how bout we both throw in the towel and get some ramen”

”...deal..”

”you really are exhausted huh?”

ren stood up after wiping the sweat off his head

”I can’t do long distance sprints, short distance sure but I can’t keep up such a high speed”

“alright bud let’s just get some ramen”

”actually how about we go to my place I can make some ramen and we can go to the bathhouse that’s over there”

”wait bathhouse??”

“yeah I don’t think I told you about it”

”bastard! is it co-ed?”

”no the genders are separated. It they’re next to eachother”

”DUDE! we could’ve spied on the girls if we invited them there”

”you really are a perv”

”I’m not a perv”

ryuji hit his chest as if he was about to be announcing a speech to a crowd of millions like some politician

”it’s a man’s duty to spy on a girl’s nude body”

”you sound like morgana”

”well at least he’d agree with me about that”

”you may be true but let’s go before my clothes get any more soggy”

”righto!”

”and we’re not spying on the girl’s bathhouse”

”you’re no fun”

both of them headed back inside to switch back to grab their uniforms and switch into them

after that they headed over to yongen Jaya and headed for the bathhouse

ryuji was the first to go in and he eased himself into the hot water

”ahhh this is bliss I can’t believe there’s something like this here”

ren entered in and sat near him but enough so that they could have their own space

ryuji looked at ren as he was enjoying his time in the water

“did you always have those scars?”

ryuji pointed at his chest which had some minor scars that’d heal on their own but there was a big scar on ren chest that seemed to be pretty deep

”oh yeah I’ve had that for a while”

”damn what happened?”

”I fought some one”

ren didn’t think much of it but the way he said it kinda made ryuji a bit nervous if he was helping an actual convict

”are you sure you’re not a convict?”

”sorry I meant to say criminal”

”that’s coo-WAIT A SECOND, you fought a criminal?”

”yeah although my dad did mentor me about how to handle such criminals I still got damaged”

”jeez you really are an idiot”

”says the one with low test scores”

“don’t remind me about it”

”we have another exam coming up”

”greattt, can’t wait to die”

”we can study together”

”let’s do it at your place I don’t trust haru’s place”

both of the guys laughed but neither really knew about what happened after they took a swing at that drink haru’s maid gave them

it was still strange when ren woke up shirtless and ryuji woke up off the hard floor

“alright then that’s settled but I still have one question”

“lay it on me”

”what’s the deal with that Nakaoka guy?”

”he’s the captain of my old track team, the one who basically suckered up to him and let everyone suffer with him”

”then what?”

”I told him off, I yelled at kamoshida and then he broke my knee”

”rough”

”tell me about it, and yet he still holds a grudge for me as if it’s my fault the track team went under”

”have you tried taking to him?”

”i tried once but he just told me off and then he called me a punk”

”you still want to do track?”

”not anymore I’m too busy with our mementos trips we take on a weekly basis, track would stress me out too much”

”you’re right, but what are you gonna do about it now?”

”sleep on it and maybe help out in case there’s any issue”

”you still care for the team even though they denounced you?”

”there still my team it’s not like I can forget all the good times I had being on the team, that and I feel like there’s some suffering with them as well I mean they’ve endured so much of kamoshida that some of them just quit sports all together. it’s hell”

”that’s really rough kinda makes you wonder”

”about what?”

”if you could’ve done something better to save a life”

”I don’t understand what you’re talking about”

”just forget about what I said it’s time we go and get out here”

”ooh! is it curry time?”

”let’s see if my landlord has any spare ingredients”

”hell yeah!”

 they got out and changed back into their uniforms

after doing so they left the bathhouse and entered the cafe

”hey boss is there any spare curry ingredients?”

ren looked over the counter only to see haru standing there with a big smile

”haru where’s sojiro?”

“he went out a few minutes earlier”

“did he say if there’s any spare curry ingredients?”

”I think he muttered that there’s some leftover”

”perfect, then I guess it’s time to get to work”

”are you gonna make some curry?”

haru was anxious to know what ren’s curry tasted like as she’s never had it and was jealous when she saw all the customers enjoy ren’s curry when he mentored her

“yeah, want some?”

”yes please!”

”then take a seat I’ll takeover for now”

both ryuji and haru sat in the same booth as they observed ren make the pot of curry

ren basically mirrored sojiro’s moves at this point so it looked like a younger sojiro was behind the counter

after some more waiting ren served two hot plates of curry to the two

they looked at their steaming hot plate of curry as it sat in front of them waiting to be eaten and consumed

”here’s your glasses of water”

ren gave each of them a glass of water for their curry as it was a bit spicy

they both took out their forks and started to dig in into ren’s curry

haru squeled in joy and delight as the curry was really good

ryuji was struggling as spicy foods were a bit hard for him to work around but he was still managing

they both scarfed down ren’s curry in no time

haru laid back in her seat as the curry was enough to fill her stomach

ryuji was drinking his water as the spicyness was still somewhat effecting him

”so how was it?”

ren patiently awaiting for their positive feedback to his curry making skills

”it was great I don’t think I’ve had better”

”yeah the spicy ness is still on my tongue, you can pack some serious spice in this curry”

”I learned from the best”

a bell rang from the front door signaling someone was coming in

the three looked over to see sojiro a bit exhausted and somewhat frustrated

“hey boss how’s it going?”

”pretty nice”

he walked over to see the empty plates in front of haru and ryuji

”you made curry?”

”yep!”

”I see judging from the smell in here it was pretty good”

”amazing”

”you have no idea”

sojiro chuckled at both of their responses

”well done kid well it’s near closing time so, haru you can work tomorrow and ren you have some cleaning to do”

”great..”

”well see you ren!”

”bye!”

”see you two later”

ren waved as both haru and ryuji left the cafe

”so then where were you?”

”adult business don’t stick your nose in it too much”

”cool..”

sojiro was exhausted and worn out from something

he closed early and left ren by himself once the other two left for the day

”jeez wonder what’s got him tired?”

” **who knows, anyways it’s bedtime** ”

”but it’s still early”

” **and you ran 6 kilometers now shut up and go to bed** ”

”fineee”

ren headed upstairs and went to bed


	54. Adventures in running a cafe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hey look more haru screen time

Afterschool

ren and haru went Back to leblanc together as they were gonna work together

”hey haru?”

”mmm?”

”why did you want to work at leblanc?”

”well I want to make my own business when I get older like my father’s”

”doesn’t he own Big Bang burger?”

”yep, so I want to follow in his footsteps and make my own famous restaurant chain”

”that’s nice you have an end goal in your life”

haru looked at him confused

”do you not have one ren?”

”not really considering I have this false assault charge on me it’ll probably haunt me for the rest of my life”

ren sighed

”but you’re still going?”

”I have to, even if I can’t do anything myself that doesn’t mean I can drag the others down along with me. otherwise who would I be if I did that”

haru smiled at ren as his answer was the one she was looking for

” _maybe it’ll mean you’ll help me_ ”

haru had a sad look which ren noticed

”boop”

ren tapped her nose which made haru snap out of her thoughts

“you gonna stand there or are you gonna help me with the shop”

haru rubbed her nose but smiled

”alright but I also brought some supplies so we can bake some desserts”

haru’s bag was filled with serveral ingredients for them to start baking with

”perfect, now we can start spicing the cafe up”

”but there’s no pepper in here?”

”not literally haru”

ren went to go open the door to the shop but it was strangely locked

”huh that’s wierd..”

he took out the key to open the store and strangely enough sojiro wasn’t anywhere in sight

”wonder where he could be?”

there was a note on one of the booth seats 

haru picked it up and read it out loud

”boy, I’m gonna he gone for a while so can you handle the shop for me? who am I kidding either run the shop or I’ll kick you to the curb”

ren was disheartened to hear that 

“guess I’m still not on good terms with him”

”I don’t think so, I mean he allowed you to run the shop before so I don’t think he hates you that much”

haru words pretty much revived ren from his shock filled sadness

”she’s too pure..”

arsene face palmed in the background

” **im gonna go fly over and check something else you do you** ”

arsene flew out of the cafe to who knows where

”so then shall we get started”

”sure let’s just start working before I re open the shop”

they both started on making some simple sweet cookies

haru was slowly working her way around making the dough but she was getting the hang of it

”this is pretty hard to do how’re you doing ren..”

she looked over to see ren already perfectly made the cookies and they were ready to be put in the oven

”you’re pretty proficient in this”

”my mom was a harsh teacher”

ren had flashbacks to when he had to perfectly make a good cookie from his mom as you ‘couldn’t get a girlfriend if you didn’t know how to make sweets’ and in her words ‘sweets were the perfect way to girl’s heart’

at least they wouldn’t be wasted as he was finally putting them to use except they weren’t for a girl

well not now at least

haru giggled as it seemed ren really did go through a rough time learning how to bake sweets

”well seeing as how we’re close to finishing could you show me some of your secrets”

”you want to know my trade secrets huh..alright I’ll humor you”

ren spend some more time teaching haru how to perfect spread the ingredients and mix them in with eachother and how to beat the dough into a perfectly shaped cookie

after putting in several trays in the oven haru went to open the shop while ren worked on some curry

after a while the fresh smell of baked goods and curry swelled up in the air making the aroma in the cafe fresh and nice as if you were at home

a customer walked in and complimented the air

”what’s this good smell in here?”

he sniffed the air

haru greeted him

”hello sir may I take your order?”

”I’ve been here many times but I don’t remember seeing your face here”

”oh she’s a temp worker here”

ren peaked it if the corner and looked at the guy

seeing as this was only haru’s third day in the job she had to get used to the regulars that come in here

”I see you’re still here kid but what’s with this nice smell in here?”

”we’re making some cookies along with some curry”

”ooh fresh baked, may I try some?”

”sure once they come out”

”fine by me I’ll take a cup of coffee as well”

”on it!”

ren looked to haru

”hey haru can you check on the cookies for me while I make his coffee”

”sure thing”

ren went to making the customer coffee while haru pulled out the fresh tray of nice smelling baked goods

haru put two cookies on a small plate and served it to him along with the coffee ren prepared him

the customer looked at the plate of fresh cookies

he picked up one but had to blow on it as they were still pretty hot

after some more blowing and some cooling he took the first bite into the cookie

after the first bite he didn’t even hesitate to keep going

after some more chewing and eating the second cookie he was able to give his full thoughts in their baking skills

”this is pretty good it’s soft and chewy but it’s got the right about of crunchy in it”

after hearing that both haru and ren smiled in delight as the cookies were starting off nicely with their reviews

”but kid”

ren looked over to see him sipping his coffee

”you may have good curry but I don’t think you’ll be able to match ol sojiro”

ren slumped over as he knew it was true sojiro’s techniques were unbeatable compared to ren’s amateurish techniques

”right..”

after he left the cafe haru and ren went to making more cookies

any left overs would go to their friends mouths and morgana’s

”wait haru do you think morgana can eat chocolate”

haru didn’t know the answer so she shrugged in confusion

”well he’s resilient enough to survive so, oh well”

they started making all kinds of different cookies with different tastes

ren had to instruct haru how to properly shape a cookie while haru had to scold ren whenever he kept adding too much flavoring in the cookie

a lot of the Comoros ended up being failures but there wasn’t enough to be too worried about

the bell rang again and in cake a neatly dressed women

black suit

silky shiny hair 

she looked professional all around

”why hello what would you like to order?”

“oh is the owner not here today?”

”nope he’s out taking care of some business so for now we’re running the shop”

”I feel like I’ve seen your face somewhere”

she looked closely into ren’s face

”I do..?”

”never mind I’m just imagining things, give me a coffee and-“

she sniffed the air as she felt the nice warm aroma from the oven which made her already feel at home

”what’s that nice smell in here?”

haru peaked her head over as she busted out a new fresh batch of sweets

”what are those?”

”some fresh baked cookies”

”I’ll take some of those”

haru set a plate for her and put some sweets on it

”hope you enjoy!”

haru said with a joyful smile

the lady returned her smile with a thankful expression

”I appreciate it” she bit into a cookie and her eyes went wide ”this is pretty good”

”thanks we worked hard on those cookies”

she chuckled “and to think that old man would consider having sweets being sold in here and yet he has two part timers working here selling some baked sweets right here”

“glad you like it and your coffee will be coming soon enough”

ren signaled haru to come and observe how to make a cup while the lady sat there taking small bites in her cookie to savor all of the cookie before it was gone

after making her coffee ren gave it to her

”so you know sojiro?”

”I’m a regular but judging by your looks you’re a highschooler and so is the young lady over there as well”

”yep”

”well it’s good to work but don’t let’s that old geezer take advantage of you”

“alright I won’t”

”you guys go to shujin academy right?”

”yeah?”

”sorry for getting personal it’s just what I assumed as my younger sister goes there”

”that’s pretty cool”

she sipped her coffee and took another bite into her cookie

”yeah” she sighed “too bad that school been getting some bad rep for all that’s been happening”

“you apart of the police force?”

”lawyer, but it seems Tokyo’s starting to fall apart” she looked at both ren and haru

”a bit of an out of blue question but what’re your thoughts on these phantom thieves”

haru didn’t know what to say as she never really thought about it 

they were people to justice but should justice be in the clutches of others?

”simple, yes”

she was taken a back but how quick ren responded but she was accepting of his straight forward answer 

she didn’t like those who weren’t decisive on their answers

”any reason why you agree with the phantom thieves?”

”think about it so far the three people they’ve busted so far were people who’s crimes that weren’t even brought to the police’s attention kamoshida’s arrest wasn’t a surprise by it showed how corrupt shujin really was, madarame a used his students and yet know one really knew not acknowledged it and kaneshiro has been in the run for so long the police nearly gave up”

”that’s some outstanding reasoning but there’s one thing I’m not sure of”

”what’s that?”

”their methods are way too similar to all the mental shutdown cases and all of the accidents that have been happening all around the city”

”that’s true but neither of those accidents involve calling cards”

”then there have to be an underlying reason”

she heard a beep from her watch which signaled it was time for her to get back as her break was over

she are the rest of the last cookie that she had

”thank you for the talk and the food”

she handed him the money for the tab

”thank you”

she left the shop while haru and ren had their own discussion

”say ren it was pretty cool what you said back there”

”was it?”

”it was but there’s another thing that’s got me thinking”

”what’s that?”

“if there was someone close to you that had a palace what would you think of them”

”in what way?”

”like how would you view them, the same as you always had or different because their misdeeds have come to light”

”I wouldn’t think of them different, if there’s anything I’ve learned about people having palaces is that everyone suffers one thing whether it be grief, sadness, lack of love and compassion and blaming yourself for everything”

ren knew this all too well after all his own father had a place for a while luckily he was able to break him free

”Well I guess that does make sense..”

”haru why are you saying this?“

”because ren I-“

the bell over the door rang and a short wide man with a hat on came through in the store

the man cut off haru and ren’s conversation

”hello sir what would you like?”

”i see sojiro isn't around right now”

”sorry he’s out right now but I can take your order if you want”

”tell him that I’m here to pick up my child I know for a fact he isn’t suitable to be a caretaker”

”child..?”

”hmph, so he hasn’t told you”

”told me what?”

“so he really hasn’t” he chuckled while smirking “he has a child under his care that he can’t take care of so I’m just graciously getting her back into my custody”

ren didn’t trust the words the man said 

something about him was off

the way he talked and the way he worded things seemed out of place

sojiro isn’t a bad person I mean he does know a detective so if there was any case of mistreatment it would be debunked as sojiro was smart enough to not risk something like that

”are you saying she was taken out of your custody?”

”well yes for some reasons, but I’ve proven myself that I’ve change and I’m ready to take her back”

ren was curious to know who this child was so he pressed on

”how old is she?”

”14, but she is malnourished and this is obviously a side effect of that man’s negligence”

”is she your kid or?”

”uncle, her mother died when she was younger and he’s been taking her in”

”that’s cool but then why are you now wanting her back?”

“uhh...I just want her as she’s my only family”

ren really started to get suspicious as he sounded disingenuous all around

”well i can’t help you with that so if you’re not gonna order I’m gonna have to ask you to leave”

ren crossed his arms to show he wasn’t messing around anymore as he fully distrusted this man

ren was certain this man was nothing but trouble

the door bell rang and all three of them looked over to see sojiro stepping in the shop

”that’s enough out of you”

his face went from smug and dishonest to shock and surprised

”sojiro I didn’t expect you to be here”

”listen if you’re here to harass my workers and my customers you can get out”

”you still owe me”

”I’ll gave the money to you last week the next payment isn’t due until the end of this month”

“if you aren’t gonna pay the fine I’ll take her back”

”back to your drug filled house where you’ll starve her to death? I think otherwise”

”like you could take care of a kid”

”get out”

”where’s the money?”

”out!”

sojiro was fed up with this man and he jsut wanted him out of the cafe

”what’re you gonna do about it huh?”

”I’ll call a police officer over here”

”then why don’t you do it?”

the man was testing sojiro

this was also on cue for ren to step in

he secretly opened his phone and rang sojiro

sojiro’s phone started to buzz loudly and sojiro grabbed it out of his pocket

after realizing it was ren on the other line he used this as an opportunity to get rid of this man

”would you look at that he’s already calling”

the guy siezed up “well I guess it’s time for me to go”

he left the shop while sojiro sighed in relief

”who was that?”

”no one important”

”but what about this girl I’m your custody”

”stop digging your nose around things and mind your own business!”

”ok jeez”

sojiro passed by him and went behind the counter

”want a cookie? it’s freshly baked”

haru held out a cookie in her hand while giving him the most purest smile in existence

sojiro tried to keep his composure but haru’s smile was too much for him to handle and he gave in by taking the cookie and eating it right in front of her

she stood there awaiting for his review

sojiro chuckled “it’s good kid, good work”

haru giggles and cheered in happiness while ren stood there jealous

he muttered under his breath “I helped too”

sojiro chuckled while the two of them were talking about how their day of running the shop was

ren stood there in the back staring out at the door

” _a daughter huh?_ ”

”hey ren”

”what’s up?”

ren turned around to face haru

”are you ready for our exams?”

ren’s face nearly tightened shit as he already forgot it was that time of the year already

”nope”

haru giggled as she was about to exit the shop

”then you should get to it”

ren slumped over as the unavoidable was coming near

the exams


	55. Second study session

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick disclaimer before we jump into the chapter
> 
> I never really announced it but chapter 48 has been altered a little as I may have gotten a bit overboard with makoto’s character so I changed a certain part of the chapter  
> I still am heading in that direction with her but I may have been too extreme

Lunch time

the gang minus yusuke because he doesn’t go to shujin was gathered at the courtyard tables on the behalf of ann and ryuji who gathered them all there

everyone was confused as they sat there not knowing why the two brought them there

both of the blondes simultaneously spoke as if they had planned from the start

“can we please study together, please!”

the others rolled their eyes expecting this

except haru who was about to use this opportunity to bond with her teammates

”this is great we can use this to deepen our friendships”

shiho leaned over and whispered into her ear

”remember last time we tried doing that”

”it’ll be fine we’re not going back to my place we’re going to ren’s place”

”why mine?”

”because my maid can get a bit antsy”

“fair point”

makoto sighed

”you guys really need to be responsible with your studies, you can’t really just rely on ren and shiho”

makoto was worried that their studies would be too affected by their metaverse work that they wouldn’t be able to focus

”we can and we’ll keep doing it”

agajn they were both in sync with eachother’s thoughts as they both as the same time

ren rubbed his eyes while the two kept trying to get the gang to study together

“come on please”

ren sighed “fine but try to focus on this and maybe we’ll actually be able to get work done since last time we weren’t able to do much”

”what happened last time?”

makoto was curious as she didn’t know they held a study session beforehand

the girls besides makoto remembered what happened and started to look away flustered as they remembered all of what happened vividly

it was permanently imbedded in their minds

ren’s sultry voice

his fierce eyes

and the way he moved was captivating

haru and shiho looked away to dodge the question and they really didn’t want to answer it

ann was drooling as there was no reason she should be embarrassed since she was dating ren

makoto looked on as they three weirded her out but it made her curious to what actually happened then

ren was shaking ann to snap out of her daze

while that was happening makoto looked to haru and shiho 

”I guess it’s settled then?”

the other two broke out of their trance

”yep”

”fine, it’s decided”

”alright I’ll go message yusuke”

ryuji stepped away and picked up his phone to message yusuke on their new plans to study together for their next exam

“so we meet at ren’s place afterschool?”

”yep, just let me fill in with my boss and we can do it”

”I guess that’ll leave us to go and wait for the signal right?”

”if he says no we could always go to the library”

”I guess our plan has been fully decided and as advisor I agree with this plan”

”wait your still advisor even when we’re not on the metaverse?”

morgana looked out of shiho’s bag to makoto

”of course we always need a clear mind in everything as they say two heads are better than one”

morgana muttered under his breath

”I’d say otherwise”

”what was that?..”

makoto tightened her fist as if she was threatening morgana

”nothing!”

“Good, well then I guess we’re all meeting soon then right”

ryuji popped back from talking to yusuke

”yusuke said he’s coming”

”then it’s settled we meet at ren’s place afterschool for studying only”

they all agreed for their plans set to go to leblanc

Yongen Jaya

the group were waiting at the train station as ryuji had to go the bathroom and ren went to go ask sojiro if they could study in leblanc and haru was getting something from her maid and guards

so they stood there with their bags

the four of them

”hey shiho you wanna see if there’s any sweet shops around here?”

”hell yeah”

”be back soon!”

both ann and shiho left makoto and yusuke by themselves

makoto sighed and looked up at yusuke while he was sketching something

”hey yusuke you didn’t believe ren at first right?”

”what do you mean?”

”I mean like when he first tried convincing you that madarame was evil and that he was just using you for his own self gain”

“no I did not, I merely took the side of my sensei but deep down he was right but I couldn’t accept it”

”ren really has changed us hasn’t he”

”yeah..he’s the one who really showed me who I really should he in life, not a puppet but my own person”

more silence came in as yusuke kept sketching while makoto was pondering to herself

”has ren told you about his past..like his Kyoto life?”

“no, he has not..”

”is that so..”

yusuke’s pencil stopped moving for a second as he looked at makoto

”why are you asking this?”

”nothing really..just curious”

yusuke sighed

”you saw didn’t you”

“saw what?”

makoto looked at him confused to what he was nodding to

”after the kaneshiro fight you saw how ren reacted when he said there was another meta nav user”

”angered and frustrated and not confused and scared like the rest of the group?”

“my exact thoughts”

”I’m surprised you knew”

”I’m not an artist without a reason knowing feelings and emotions should be second nature to any artist”

”yet you stalked ann and didn’t know that the you were one misstep away from being beat up”

”hmm..?”

”nothing”

yusuke looked at makoto confused as he was oblivious to what she meant

”but I have another question for you yusuke”

”what’s that?”

”do you think ren did it? like..kill anyone?”

”no, he’s way too heroic and valiant to do that after all he willingly invited ryuji, ann and shiho into the metaverse anyone who was a killer wouldn’t need help especially after what he had to deal with with to help us and you out with kaneshiro”

”you’re definitely correct about that if anyone was as heartless as to cause several deaths all across the nation for some selfish goal then they wouldn’t need a team nor friends they would be to disconnected from society to function like that”

”but I’m still confused why are you asking these questions”

”well I’m just very curious about this stuff and there’s something I wish to know...”

”which is...?”

”you think he knows exactly who this person is?”

makoto hypothesis was already proven wrong but if ren knew who this other user was and if he was able to tell them she may able to get revenge for her father

”that..that I’m not so sure of, ren isn’t the type to open himself up”

”he’s not..?”

”no, Ive tried asking about his past such as how he awakened his persona but he said he couldn’t remember”

”thats impossible you can’t just forget something so important, there must be a reason”

”well nothing we can find, everything we’ve asked hasn’t really opened anything about him”

”has no one else tried”

”not that I know of”

”but If ren knows this person why hasn’t he told us about him”

that question left yusuke to think to himself

why would ren not tell them about this other persona user?

”remember how kaneshiro said this other user would destroy us if we went up against him”

”yeah?”

”maybe he’s trying to protect us who knows what ren is trying to do, all I know is that everything he’s done is to help us so maybe this is in someway helping us”

”but if that’s so why isn’t he telling us..?”

”after fighting along side ren I’ve been able to tell his true nature”

”what is it?”

”he’s a kind and gentle person, but he’s damaged mentally whatever he’s hiding may be very personal to him”

”but I still think there’s some connection to him and the other metaverse user”

”what’s that?”

”the first heart thief calling card was sent near 3 months before the first mental shutdown case, which also means ren was the first meta nav user but the first mental shutdown case was reported in Kyoto, ren’s hometown”

“then what you’re saying”

”whoever it is also knew ren otherwise the first case wouldn’t have been there”

”this is very perceptive of you”

”thank you but there’s two conclusions I have gathered from this”

”which is?”

”either ren isn’t strong enough to fight this person and got us all together to form the phantom thieves to help him, or ren has fought alongside this person”

”you seem very determined about this topic do you have any reason”

“my father was killed 2 years ago, ever since then my sister has taken every precaution to find out who killed him and she’s been trying to figure out who the phantom thieves are as she feels they might be the closest clue she has to finding out who”

”so is this for your sister’s sake?”

”yes and no, I want to find my father’s killer and avenge him but I also want to help my sister ever since his death she’s been nothing but stressed from everything”

yusuke chuckled “I appreciate you trusting me to tell me all of this”

”well you guys were the ones to help me I have to repay somehow”

”well it was a nice conversation but if I may ask are you distrustful of ren?”

makoto stopped as the question and answer were budding in her mind

she gave out a deep sigh

”no, it’s just this may be my one and only one chance to find what happened to my father and be able to bring me and my sister together”

”have you argued with each other?”

“yeah, but i shouldn’t be really talking my sister has been suffering this entire time”

”have you tried making up?”

”that ship has already been sunk, seems her stress is making her hard to talk to”

”wish I could tell you a solution but I’m not to good at solving those. maybe you should ask ren he’d know what to do”

“that’s your answer? ren?”

makoto started to laugh which left yusuke puzzled

”he really is the answer to everything isn’t he?”

”well he’s the one who’s saved all of us from whatever was going to haunt us”

they both started to laugh but then a realization hit them both

“wait speaking of ren, shouldn’t he be back already?”

both yusuke and makoto got so sunk in their conversation that they forgot why they were standing around and waiting for

”I’ll message him”

”I’ll go find the others”

the two split up to go on a wild goose chase to gather everyone back

after both yusuke and makoto had to gather everyone they all stood in front of leblanc 

“well it’s time to go in!”

ann was the first to enter and everyone else followed suit

they entered in and the cafe was the same as always

empty

besides the ren and sojiro arguing about something

”kid I’m not telling you about it”

”why not”

”I seriously kick you to the curb if you keep pressing forward”

ren sighed “fine but can we still have our study session here we really need it”

”fine, just don’t bug me”

”thanks”

”I’ll be out of the shop I’ll come back later”

sojiro took his leave and left the shop leaving the group to their own devices

ren walked over to his group of friends who stood there at the doorway confused

”well then where do you guys want to study?”

”the booth seats, I want to enjoy the scenery here”

yusuke really liked the scenery in the cafe and the fact that his mother’s portrait was right at the entrance

but for some reason it smelled more of a swirl of baked goods, coffee and curry all at was and it was oddly soothing

after they all got situated in their chairs the seats went

ren, ann and ryuji on one row

shiho, makoto and yusuke on the other row

and haru who sat on a chair out of the booth which she took out of the kindness of her heart because it felt more convenient to her

but even though the seating was fair and everyone liked their positions

ren was still sorta ticked off

”may I ask why’re the both of you sitting next to me?”

both of the blondes paused as their true intentions were already discovered even before the study session truly started

”well I’m your girlfriend so I’m obligated?”

ren gave her a cold stare that made ann freeze

”what about you ryuji? what’s your excuse?”

“it’s not an excuse I just want to be next to my best bud”

ren also flared at ryuji which made him shake in anxiousness

”so then how has your studying been going?”

ann was the first to answer as she had at least A excuse although it wasn’t a good one

”well we’ve been hanging out so much I forgot about school and stuff hehe”

”it’s been more than a week since we took down kaneshiro”

“ok and we’ve been hanging out..and going on dates..”

”shiho..”

shiho looked up a bit nervous to what ren was going to say to her

”y-yeah?”

”how many times have you hung out with ann afterschool since we took out kaneshiro”

”uhhh..about 4”

”and seeing as your a good student you have remembered all out the finals right?”

”yep..”

”and how many times has ann declined?”

”all of them..”

shiho has to give in to ren to ann’s horror as she looked at her friend with the face of shock and betrayal as her best friend in the whole world just sold her out to ren who seemed to be pretty annoyed that they weren’t even ready for the finals

”ryuji..?”

”I uh..I..I didn’t study”

ren sighed “at least you’re honest”

“so am I good?”

”of course not!” ren crosses his arms as he sighed “guess I have to train you extra hard to make sure you guys don’t fail”

”that’s good right?”

ryuji thought he was going to be on easy street but was heavily mistaken as ren chuckled to himself

“nope as for being bad students when we’re suppose to lay low I’m gonna have to make sure you understand these formulas before I put you through the wringer”

both ann and ryuji took one big gulp as ren busted out his notebook as he was ready to teach the two of them some hard equations

while ren was intimidating those two the others watched on while they were pulling out their notebooks as well

makoto was very curious about the nice smell in the cafe

”hey haru can I ask what’s that smell in here? it’s different than the coffee smell from last time”

”oh that’s both me and ren’s cookies that we made yesterday”

“cookies?”

haru barely muttered the word and shiho was already intrigued and hooked to what kind of cookies they were talking about

“yeah, you want to try some of them? we worked really hard on them”

”yes please!”

haru stood up and went to the back where there was a small batch of cookies still leftover on the kitchen counter

there were more of them yesterday but it seemed sojiro got to eating them

made her giggle to think he’d give into some simple cookies so easily

haru grabbed them and brought them back to the group

she set them onto the table which made everyone look over to them

”woah I didn’t know the old man made cookies here”

ryuji went over to grab one but haru slapped it away

”ryuji, we all have to have our fair share”

“I know but I want to have the first cookie-“

haru again slapped ryuji’s hand as he tried to grab for the cookies once more

”ryuji don’t be rude”

morgana who seemed to have slithered his way out of shiho’s bag was laying in top of the booth seat stretching his legs

”what do you want cat?”

”nothing much just observing you guys”

”well then you want a cookie”

”well not really but since you offered I don’t mind-“

”ok I guess more cookies for us”

”LET ME FINISH YOU STUPID BABOON!”

”what’d ya call me you insecure cat”

”ohoho do you want to go, because I’m ready to throw down with an idiot like you”

”please like you could kick me down”

it seemed morgana and ryuji once again had a fight but luckily there was some authority power in the group to break them up

“hey..aren’t we here to study?”

makoto glared at ryuji as she cracked her knuckles

ryuji tactfully stood down as he sat back into his seat

”haha! that’s what you get”

”you know morgana just because you’re a cat doesn’t mean you’re safe from punishment”

”y-yes ma’am”

morgana got down onto the table before he regretted something

“well then if you don’t mind I shall now give you all a treat of me and ren’s hard work”

haru started to pass out cookies to everyone

after she passed out the cookies everyone took a bite out of their share

”damn! this is really good!”

ryuji swallowed his cookie whole after he took the first bite out of his cookie

ann and shiho squealed as they ate theirs

makoto took her sweet time to eat hers

yusuke was near tears most likely because he’s barely ate anything the day before

and haru fed small pieces to morgana as he licked them off of her hand

after they ate their share of cookies they each gave out their compliments

”I didn’t know you guys knew how to bake”

”well ren said he knew and I sorta knew because my maid has been teaching me how to cook”

”man this would be way better if we had coffee with this eh ren?”

”yeah this would be better with coffee”

”aren’t we supposed to study”

makoto was the only voice of reason at this point 

”don’t be such a killjoy”

”if any of you fail that’ll put a damper on our thief work”

”I guess you’re right”

”I am right, now let’s get to actually studying”

the actual study session commenced with no more delays

it went surprisingly smoothly with everyone helping each other out with subjects they were weak to and vice versa

besides ryuji who seemed to be struggling with every concept of literature, mathematics and science

after an hour of working the group decided it was time they stopped studying and took a break

ren slouched back in his seat as he put his pencil down

”studying with others is way better than doing it by yourself”

”agreed, I actually felt like I learned more with you guys than by myself” makoto felt accomplished knowing that she was helping out her friends 

”if only ryuji could grasp these concepts as well as you guys”

morgana’s taunt really ticked off ryuji

”piss off cat you wouldn’t understand what we have to go through”

“whatever”

while ryuji and morgana were having a brawl yusuke looked over at the tv where the news was showing

”wait someone turn the program up”

”huh why?”

”isn’t it that detective who you guys met a while back?”

”wait akechi?”

haru grabbed the remote and turned the program up

[so then akechi-kun do you finally have a summary on what happened to the mafia boss kaneshiro?]

[why yes indeed, it seems he suffered a heart attack most likely from the stress of being interrogated or because of the after effects of his lifestyle]

” **wait was that a just a nice way of saying he’s fat?** ”

” _arsene shhh_ ”

[I also believe that the phantom thieves aren’t at fault for his death at all, they seem to be innocent in this case no matter how you twist it]

” **wait? he’s defending you?** ”

” _there’s something under that smirk of his, he’s plotting something_ ”

[so akechi-kun you’re defending the phantom thieves?]

[well I can’t necessarily punish those for crimes they don’t seem to be the main cause of]

[great insight as always akechi-kun]

[why thank you, your words are too kind]

[anyways akechi-kun what are your thoughts on the whole kaneshiro ordeal]

[well I’ve said it once before but I’ll say it again, the hearts of those shouldn’t be changed, criminal or not]

[fascinating..any other cases you have that we ca talk about..]

the cast went on about akechi’s other cases and the group turned off the tv as it was no longer important for them

”what was the point of calling us out if he’s just going to defend us”

ryuji was confused as he never thought the same detective who bashed the thieves would then defend them right afterwards

it didn’t really make sense

”say what do you guys think?”

“maybe we’re finally getting the recognition we deserve?”

shiho was also very confused

”maybe the police will be on our side”

haru was optimistic

”unlikely, but it’s good to have hopes”

makoto was a bit indifferent as she didn’t know how to feel about it

”let’s just leave that aside and worry about something else”

”like what?”

”our celebration for our kaneshiro take down of course, isn’t it tradition”

”ohhh yeah we haven’t even discussed about that”

“so what do you guys wanna do? there’s that fireworks festival that’ll be happening soon so we could do that”

”put it after our finals ryuji and then we can worry about stuff like that”

”ooh! will you guys be wearing yukatas? please telling you’ll wear them”

morgana was unusually antsy about this

”that sounds fun me and ann still have ours from when we went last time”

”but we’ve grown up since last year so I wanna get a new one”

shiho sighed as she now had to go shopping for another yukata

“whatever but i guess I have to go with you”

“can I tag along I don’t think I have one”

makoto hadn’t been to a festival in a long time so she didn’t have one either

”then it’ll be a trip for all of us”

haru came in as she wanted to be apart of the girls trip to find a yukata, not that she needed to as she had several designer ones that were way more expensive then your traditional yukatas

”well then it’s settled then we will all go together to the fireworks festival”

ren seemed pretty excited about this

it's been a while since he’s last been to a festival so it would be a time to remember

”anyways shall we keep studying or..”

ryuji anxiously awaited the answer

”I think we’re at a good place to stop”

”finally!”

ryuji stood up from his chair and stretched

”hey ren can I have that curry you were served me and haru again?”

”curry?”

makoto was already intrigued

shiho was near drooling

”might as well I’ll see what I have left that I can make”

ren left the booth and both ann and ryuji sat back down after letting ren out

ren headed upstairs quickly for some reason

“I’ve never had the food here so how is it?”

”the coffee is the greatest, the owner really knows his stuff”

”then can ren make the coffee as well?”

”don’t put more stuff for me to do”

ren stepped back downstairs after tying his apron on his shirt and getting to make some curry 

“so I don’t think I’ve known about your housing situation all to well, what happened?”

ren answered her question as he started to work on his curry

”well the old man knows my old man and he allowed me to stay at his attic as a favor or something”

”well that’s quite a predicament you are in”

”eh, I don’t let it bother me too much”

”at least he’s positive about things”

after some more time passes ren finished curry and started to put it all on some plates

“hey haru can you hand those out”

”on it!”

haru grabbed the plates and gave it to the group

ryuji was waiting it dog in as he couldn’t handle holding back anymore

morgana looked ok wonder at how something like this could’ve existed

the other 4 looks confused at their reactions but were still impressed by how the curry and looked and smelled

after haru sat back down with her plate they all pulled out their forks and were about to dig in

”you forgot you glasses of water”

ren gave each one their own glass of water as he stepped back to see their faces

they finally started to takes bites out of the curry each having their own expressions

ren made the curry a bit more spicy than usual so those who weren’t used to spicy foods were suffering a bit

mainly ryuji and yusuke who’s seemed to be struggling the most

ryuji was breathing heavier as he couldn’t exactly handle the spicy ness 

yusuke was fanning his mouth as he wasn’t good at taking spicy foods at all

makoto wasn’t having too much of a problem but she was still sweating from the heat

haru didn’t have too much of an issue

shiho was sweating but she was easing the curry in with small bites

and ann who was sweating pretty hard as she wasn’t used to spicy foods

and morgana who jealously looked on at the group as they were eating

after they finished eating they all took a moment to drink some water before talking

”jeez ren did you make it even more spicy?”

”yep”

”the sensation is really is exquisite”

”that’s for the review yusuke”

”I didn’t expect it would be this good”

”it takes a lot of practice to learn”

”well then I’m gonna take my leave”

ryuji stood up once more and grabbed his bag

”I’ll see you all tomorrow”

”you better not slack off”

”I won’t!”

ryuji left the cafe

”I think I’ll be going to”

”same here”

both yusuke and makoto followed suit and left the cafe after the curry

”thanks for the curry ren!”

”it was really good!”

both haru and shiho left after gathering their stuff

ann stood up as well but not before kissing ren on the cheek

”I appreciate all that you’ve done”

”you don’t need to thank me”

ren chuckled while scratching the back of his neck

”well then I’ll make sure i get a cute yukata just for you ok~”

“I’ll be looking forward to that”

”hehe you better be”

ann left the shop leaving ren to himself

almost to himself

morgana was left behind by shiho as she forgot to pick him up

”so I guess I’m staying with you”

”wait why?”

”I guess shiho forgot about me”

ren sighed while rubbing his eyes

”I got some cat food in the pantry, you want it?”

”yes please! is it organic?”

”why would I get expensive cat food?”

”because you’re nice”

ren stood there blankly first a minute

”no exceptions”

ren gave morgana his cat food and they went on with their day


	56. Clinic visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s a small chapter because I just felt like squeezing it in somewhere  
> So this’ll have to do

_**Clinic** _

ren walked in the clinic as he was asked to do another trial which he hadn’t done in a while since the whole kaneshiro ordeal and him being forced to rest after getting sick

tae was behind the counter reading a book when she looked up at ren

”I see you came earlier than expected”

“well I need to train myself”

”well it’s good you’re so optimistic about these tests guinea pig”

”well it’s been helping me train and improve my body”

she closed her book and chuckled “you certainly are an odd character but you’re a good guinea pig”

she opened to the door into her office

”please head inside and we shall start our test soon”

ren headed inside and sat down at a stool while tae got her clipboard and got an oddly colored liquid she’d been keeping cool in a fridge where she puts all of her other supplies

”before we start can you please put on those patches so I can keep track of your heart rhythm and your other vital signs”

at this point it was routine for ren as he knew exactly where and how to place them on him

tae poked his shoulder with her pen

”I see you’ve been keeping up with your exercises”

”yeah I don’t wanna slack”

”I can understand why”

”yeah I have someone who I don’t wanna disappoint”

”a girlfriend perhaps?”

”yep!”

ren rubbed his head happily as he was proud of saying it

”thats good explains a lot and a happy healthy guinea pig gives good results”

“so what’s that glass you have there”

”here” she handed him the glass “drink that and then immediately lie down it’s suppose to turn a person into a frog”

”a frog? is that even possible”

”of course not it’s just simple medicine”

”oh..of course”

ren followed her instructions and he drank it and proceeded to lay his head down on the bed

he was already starting to feel the effects

”just close your eyes and go to sleep”

ren closed his eyes as he was slowly swept away into his dreams

tae could hear him lightly snore as he went to sleep nearly immediately 

she stood up from her chair

”guess it’s time for coffee”

she exited the office leaving ren there sleeping soundly

* * *

A few hours later

ren woke up from his daze

he slowly opened his eyes as they weren’t adjusted to the light just yet 

he yawned as he looked up to ms takemi sipping her coffee and writing down some notes

”you slept well”

”yeah thanks”

”just try not to get sick again that medicine isn’t cheap you know”

”aren’t i repaying you with these tests?”

she sighed “I guess you are”

ren stood up after taking off the patches on his body that takemi used to check his vital signs

”it’s a good thing that you’re still healthy after a lot of stress your body was under when you were sick”

”hehe I guess I’m made for that kind of stuff huh?” ren chuckled and smiled as he rubbed the back of his head innocently

as was about to step out when takemi gave him one last interesting remark as he opened the door

”good luck with your ‘thievery work’ and I can also double as a therapist if you need it for this ‘arsene’ person”

ren nearly seized up as he heard ms takemi say those words

the door closed behind him and he stood there in the waiting room

” _s-she knew!?_ ”

” **well yeah she’s known for a bit** ”

” _arsene! for how long?_ ”

” **since the last couple of tests** ”

” _how?_ ”

ren was incomplete disbelief that she somehow found out about his thievery work

” **you mumble words in your sleep** ”

” _wait I do!?_ ”

” **sometimes you say things about your thief work, school life or just some random things with friends** ”

” _okay.._ ”

” **and there’s those times where you dream yourself in this wonderland of sorts** ”

” _a wonderland?_ ”

ren was curious to what

” **yeah it’s kinda weird with what you dream sometimes** ”

” _what do I say?_ ”

a big mistake for ren as arsene has a huge grin as he looked at ren

” **you treat yourself like a fairytale hero of some sorts sometimes and you treat ann like some kind of princess** ”

” _I don’t.._ ” ren was getting flustered as he thought about it more and more

” **awww is the courageous ren getting embarrassed? does he need his ‘pwincress’** **to comfort him** ”

arsene was teasing ren at this point while ren was completely embarrassed

ren left the clinic still embarrassed as arsene teased him

” **I love how you’re like ‘I’ll save you!’ or like ‘Take this evil doer! Hiyah!’ it’s so ‘manly’ in what you say sometimes** ”

” _Arsene I’ll kill you_ ”

” **but ‘heroes’ don’t do that** ” 

arsene started to laugh as he kept bullying ren about it as this wasn’t just one occasion it was multiple times a night especially recently

poor ren was having nice dreams for once and there wasn’t anything he nor arsene could do about it

besides arsene making fun of him of course

but it made arsene relived to know ren was doing fine and wasn’t having any nightmares of any sort

* * *

_**Sojiro’s house** _

futaba was sitting at her computer taking a nap as she got bored when ren was doing a medicine test for the local doctor 

a nice peaceful quiet nap

until a ghostly figure showed up behind her

“you ungrateful child!”

futbaba started to fidget in discomfort as the figure seemed to frighten her

”always nagging at me, and soon you’ll be able to join me in damnation”

futaba’s face was in full discomfort and she didn’t want to hear the figure at all especially since it was causing her pain for some reason

after a while the figure disappeared and Futaba stayed asleep as her fidgeting stopped once she left

a single tear leaving her eye as she disappeared


	57. Yukata shopping

Daytime

shiho was taking the finals 

it was day one of the finals as of now and she was looking pretty confident of her score as she felt like she knew exactly what she was doing

”this is really easy, maybe that study session really was worth it”

the minutes went by and shiho handed in her test

the day ended and shiho was finally able to get a breather

once she stepped out of the classroom however she wasn’t safe at all

she wasn’t even 5 steps out in the hallway when she saw a certain blonde running up to her

“it seems my time is up”

she basically gave in and allowed ann to drag her out to the courtyard

the day before ann had made a separate chat just for the girls I’m the group so the three boys couldn’t see what they were talking about and ann had told the group they would be shopping the first day of exams

and shiho could already tell ann was about to talk about

after shiho was dragged to the courtyard she sat down at the bench while ann was about to talk to her and ask her a favor

”shiho are you ready to go?”

”I guess so..what about the others”

”they already know but they’re caught up with some stuff so for now it’ll be us two”

“well at least it’ll be peace and quiet for now”

”also where’s morgana weren’t you keeping him?”

ann pointed at shiho’s empty bag

“he’s with ren, I couldn’t deal with his nagging so I left him there”

shiho grew tired of morgana’s constant nagging and the fact he kept trying to get her to sleep early so she thought she’d leave a gift for ren after their study session

too bad he’s gonna have to deal with him until someone else takes him in

”well at least we won’t hear him talk to us, and his attempts to flirt with me”

”he still does it but I gotta say he has dedication and I can sympathize with that”

”don’t sympathize with morgana”

after a while of sitting around both haru and makoto show up

they are both greeted by ann and shiho and they now discuss where they should go

“so then ann, you said you knew where to get some yukatas?”

makoto wasn’t necessarily in the most exited of moods but she was at least ready to go

“I’m harujuku of course they have the most clothes shops there”

”you think they sell yukatas?”

”of course I do, me and shiho have been there many times in the past”

“well then it seems you two will lead the charge for this one, this may be a bad idea”

”don’t worry it’ll be fine!”

haru giggled “let’s make this a fun trip, right mako-chan?”

makoto sighed but gave haru a smile “I guess it’ll have to do”

“then are you guys ready to go?”

“ready as I’ll ever be..”

makoto particularly wasn’t stoked to go but she went anyway

they left the school and went to haru’s limo because it was easier and more convenient than going by subway

they arrived in harujuku shortly after and they started off on their search for some yukatas

the place was more crowded than usual probably as people are getting ready for the fireworks festival

even so the scenery was still as eye grabbing as usual with store lit up with colorful signs and vibrant posters plastered all over them

”so then ann you said you know where we could get some?”

”yep it should be over this way”

ann lead the group as they went into their destination

it was a more traditional shop but had a more modern touch to it

there were yukatas on display in the front and had some more on racks

they four took in scenery of the shop as they looked at the different yukata designs

they were greeted by the clerks before they started to look at the yukatas

some had flower designs, bow, petals and other flower type designs

they looked at the shop bewildered by how the designs looked and how beautiful they seemed

”hey shiho, what are you gonna get?”

shiho shrugged her shoulders “maybe I’ll get a red one, I think it’ll suit me more if I do”

”then do you wanna match?”

”no, choose one that ren might like, like this blue one with yellow flowers on it”

she pointed at the yukata that sat on a rack

it was a beautiful sky blue and the flowers matched ann’s blonde hair perfectly

”ooh this does look nice”

”then go check it out dummy”

”I know”

ann walked over to a changing booth that was located in the back of the store

shiho sighed as she turned to makoto who was selecting a yukata with the help of haru trying to decide what she should go with

she walked over with her bright red yukata of choice in her hand

”you guys alright?”

”I’m still looking for what yukata I should wear as I’m still in the fence”

”what are you looking at?”

”I’m on the fence between this dark blue one and this purple one”

”I’m telling her to go for the purple one since it’ll look good on her”

haru said in a passionate fashion as she thought makoto would look good in a purple yukata

makoto liked the dark blue one more as she liked the color blue

shiho sracthed her head as she didn’t think either color would look good on her

she looked over and saw another rack with a white yukata with red and pink petals on it

she grabbed it and showed it to makoto and haru

”what about this one it’ll look great on you”

”oh it does look good, why don’t you try it mako-chan”

both shiho and haru were encouraging makoto to try that one on

“I guess I could”

“then go and try it on and we’ll wait for you here”

”alright”

makoto went to the changing booths leaving haru and shiho behind to themselves

“hey haru how long have you known makoto?”

”well she’s been in the same class as me all throughout high school so I’ve known her for quite a long time”

”that’s cool, I’m guessing it was a relief to have her as a friend since you said you didn’t really have any”

”well weren’t really friends but she was the first person to see me not as a billionaire’s daughter but as a normal person”

”so she really was nice back then”

”what do you mean?”

”I mean she was a prune back then before she joined the group always nagging about rules and stuff”

shiho has had sort of a history with makoto as during her first year she always hated how makoto was so much of a rule setter and she had some run ins where she yelled at her for not being a star student

in made her mad so much to the point to where she wanted to get perfect grades to shove it in her face

but now they are on positive terms with eachother as they both realized their faults and their missteps

but she still wanted to get top spot to shove it in her face

haru laughed at shiho’s motivation to get a top score

”at least you have a motivation to study”

”well I’m gonna go check this out so you can wait for us outside and we’ll meet you then”

”see you then”

shiho walked off and haru went outside of the store

she looked up at the nice warm blue sky that was slowly turning into a sweet orangy color

it was a beautiful mix of colors and it sucked haru into her own imagination

”excuse me..”

she couldn’t really picture what the color was but it felt pretty to look at

”ma’am, excuse me”

haru was deeply stuck in her thoughts as if nothing could wake her up

”ma’am”

haru finally snapped out of her train of thought as she looked at who was calling her

”yes..?”

she looked over to see a boy with a business suit holding a suitcase trying to grab her attention

“sorry for bothering you but do you know what time it is? my watch recently broke and my phone is currently dead”

haru checked her phone

”5:14 pm” she looked back up to the boy “aren’t you akechi-san?”

“my my, seems like I really am known everywhere around here, but yes I am goro akechi”

“what are you doing in harujuku?”

”well someone told me there was a good shop where I can get some nice pancakes in but it seems I may be in the wrong part”

”I think you are what is this shop called?”

“I believe it’s called dome town”

”oh that’s in Suidobashi..a 30 minute train ride north from here”

akechi looked at her in disbelief

”great..and I just wanted some pancakes”

”I see you’re an avid pancake lover..”

haru looked at the detective confused as she thought he was meant to be distinguished and elegant and not gush over pancakes

”sorry I let that out, I really do enjoy pancakes” akechi looked at haru’s shujin patch on her uniform “so you go to shujin?”

”yeah I do”

haru was a bit confused but could understand where this conversation was about to go to as he was a detective and shujin has been heavy worth the headlines recently

”I see” akechi looked up at the sky as well as if he was looking for someone “I know someone who happens to go there, it sounds really rough in those parts”

”well it used to be but I believe it’s been cleared up”

akechi chuckled “because of the phantom thieves, right?”

”I guess you can say they have helped a lot I mean they got the gym teacher arrested for abuse and sexual assault”

he sighed as he knew he wouldn’t be able to get through to her “well the phantom thieves may not always be as good as you think, who knows they could be connected to the mental shutdown cases and we just don’t know right now”

”I mean who knows but they do have their differences”

”that’s true but there is no doubt in my mind that the phantom thieves should not be trusted”

”but they haven’t killed anyone”

”yet..who knows when they’ll strike, all I know is that they are nothing but evil”

akechi was very serious about this topic at hand for several reasons haru didn’t know of

”I mean..are they?”

”heroes aren’t people who take lives..maybe you should try to remember that and apply it to the thieves..who knows what results may come up”

haru looked at him very concerningly as he seemed a bit unstable

”do you know of their motives are?”

”nope, but whatever they are l, it’s only for personal glory”

”I guess in a way you could see it like that”

”well yes, I mean who knows what their ulterior motive is, not like any of us know”

”right...”

”well I should be off it’ll be almost time for the next train to come” akechi started to walk off but waved at haru whole giving a smile “i appreciate the talk we had..”

he walked off to the station while haru still stood there outside of the shop

she heard the chatter of the other three from the inside as they had made their way to the counter

she saw as they stepped out fo the shop chattering about something

it seemed both makoto and shiho were speaking about something while ann looked happy carrying her bag with her yukata in it

”come on makoto, we have to do it together as a team”

”I’ll refrain from doing that”

”don’t be such a downer”

haru smiled at them which grabbed their attention

”hey guys what’re you talking about”

”I’m trying to get her to join us in a sleepover”

”I like sleepovers”

”Exactly! come on makoto we’re all in this together and we can talk about stuff”

”there are finals happening right now and I don’t want to miss them”

”booooring, why can’t you live with some zest in your life it shows you haven’t changed at all”

shiho was mocking makoto which made makoto understandably annoyed at shiho

”just because I knew you from always being a chatty person and being below average”

”well I’ve improved since last exam I got 26th place”

”because ren beat you out for first and you weren’t able to get into the top 25”

”don’t speak about that!”

haru giggled loudly which interrupted both shiho and makoto’s conversation and it snapped ann out of her own thoughts for a moment 

“why don’t we set our differences aside and go to somewhere else for the time being”

”sure let’s go back to Shibuya, there’s some delicious bakeries around there that I know of”

the word bakery woke ann up and she immediately was excited to go eat

”oooh shiho what about the one near the station”

”that’ll do, onwards back to Shibuya”

the three marched forward to the station while haru was walking straight behind them

she turned around for a second to look back at the orange ish sky

” _heroes aren’t people who take lives..maybe you should try to remember that and apply it to the thieves..who knows what results may come up_ ”

akechi’s statement confused haru and made her very concerned for what he was nodding to

who knows what that message was trying to convey

all haru knew was that akechi seemed very serious maybe a bit too serious for a topic like this

the sky slowly turned might as the four spent the rest of their day eating at a cafe and talking about random things

but haru still couldn’t shake the feeling of concern in her mind as she tried to decipher what akechi was talking about

something she wouldn’t find out until later in the year when it finally hit her


	58. What’s the move?

_**Diner** _

“this is so amazing ren! looks at how much your following has grown”

”mishima, keep it down”

both ren and mishima were hanging out at the diner as exams had just finished

ryuji was there as well but he had gone to he bathroom a few minutes prior to ‘take a whizz’

so it was currently mishima and ren sitting at the table

”sorry, sorry I’m just so hyped look at how much your following had grown”

mishima opened his phone and went to the phan-site to show ren how accepted the phantom thieves are starting to be more and more popular ever since the kaneshiro takedown

ren leaned in forward to see how the phan-site has been progressing

ren didn’t expect that they would go so far after all he’d barely made a splash when he was ‘solo’

ren sat back in his chair smirking

”so it seems we really have been making some headlines”

morgana peeked our of ren’s bag

”all thanks to my leadership”

morgana was with ren as he’s been dealing with him this entire time during exams

nagging at him for lost stuff and annoying ren

the cat was trying to help but his help wasn’t all that needed for ren

ren kinda felt sorta bad until morgana’s ego came through and ruined any sympathy ren had for him

” **his ego is the worst** ”

” _the only reason I don’t like him that much_ ”

” **the fact you still hold sympathy for this feline impresses me, I’ve never been so frustrated at a person in my life..besides you know who** ”

” _message received.._ ”

”so ren..I can call you by your first name right?”

”it’s not like we’re strangers, call me whatever you want”

”okay then ren”

”good things that’s clear but uhh why did you call me here?”

”well I wanted to discuss your next move”

”next move..?”

“yeah how are you going to take down next?”

this question caught ren off guard as he didn’t know where to go now

it was always hard to find criminals and big shots that it usually took ren a month in between to find someone good and that was only at the least 

the most he’s waited for was 2 and a half months

and it has been a few months and they’ve only taken down 3 palaces it’s would be a miracle if they found one now

”I don’t think we could get a new target any time soon”

“then what about actors they probably have something behind the scenes”

”even if we did it wouldn’t be as huge as a mafia boss”

the two sat there thinking about it

who would be a greater threat than kaneshiro

”yo what about a crummy ceo”

the two looked over to see ryuji come back from the bathroom

”seems you came back from your whizz”

”yeah but I wasn’t asking for some conversation about the metaverse stuff, why don’t we go for some grub instead”

”but we just ate”

“we ate like 3 snacks let’s just go”

”3 snacks does not equal 2 sandwiches”

”to you it doesn’t but to me that’s only a snack”

”you eat way too much”

”you don’t? I mean you have to have a diet to have muscles like that”

”well I’m not gonna lie I do eat a lot and I have some funds to spend on healthy foods”

”exactly! how about we go to Big Bang burger and try that challenge where you have to eat this huuuge burger”

”I’ll pass”

”come on ren! don’t be such a wuss”

” **yeah ren don’t be such a wuss** ”

” _don’t you even start_ ”

“ **what’re you gonna do about it?** ”

” _you’ll see.._ ”

ren was smirking while inwardly laughing

this scared both mishima and ryuji who looked at ren as if he was psychotic

“so..mishima you want to go exercise?”

”sure why not”

”hey ren! let’s go exercise so we’ll meet you at the gym”

ren snapped out of his train of thought and looked at the two

”sure I’ll catch up in a bit I’m just gonna go to the bathroom”

they all stood up from their seats and walked their separate ways

except rem didn’t go to the bathroom but he went to an alleyway for some particular reason

**_Velvet room_ **

caroline was taping her feet while inspecting her baton

”say justine what do you think of the inmate?”

”what’s with this question we aren’t supposed to think anything of him as our only job is to make sure our inmate’s rehabilitation goes as smoothly as possible, as per our master’s orders”

justine was flipping through her clipboard while caroline fiddled with her baton

”anyways..do you..miss him?”

justine sighed and she looked up at caroline while she was twiddling with her baton

“caroline are you holding feelings for the inmate, you know that’s forbidden”

”I’m not!” caroline bounced back very annoyed and offended that justine even considered “the fact you even thought of that makes me so very pissed off”

”you were the one to bring it up caroline”

”that doesn’t mean anything!”

caroline was gritting her teeth and tightening her first while justine looked at caroline as her facial expression did not change at all whatsoever

before the conversation could continue more a dim light shined through a prison cell in front of the twin wardens

the light disappeared and out appeared ren in a prison jumpsuit

he stood up and walked towards the cell door

he leaned against the door as he stared at the two wardens

”am I interrupting something?”

caroline looked away from justine and straight into ren

”no, you came just in time inmate”

”yes..just before I was about to tell caroline something”

”something like what?” ren looked at her confused

before justine could talk caroline cut her off

”anything you need inmate or are you here to waste our time?”

”oh uhh can I use that solitary confinement facility you have?”

”solitary confinement..? oh! that one, alright any reason?”

”I just need to strengthen my persona”

”alright”

caroline opened solitary confinement and it was ready to take in one of ren’s personas

ren smiled as he knew exactly what he was gonna use with this

“well then inmate you can put one of your personas in there” caroline looked straight at ren “so hows it gonna be?”

”I’ll call...arsene!”

ren summoned arsene in the velvet room and he appeared in solitary confinement

” **huh..? wait a second where am i?** ”

arsene looked around to see he was on a barred empty cell but instead of your usual prison decor there was only a black void

” **where the hell am I? ren?** ”

”your in solitary confinement buddy”

” **wait you don’t mean..no haha you wouldn’t would you?** ”

arsene saw this as a joke, I mean why would ren get rid of his best persona like that, right?

” **hey uh ren can you please let me out of this cell?** ”

”I’ll see you tomorrow morning”

” **ren tell me you’re kidding you wouldn’t do this to me I mean I am your partner after all** ”

”have fun~”

arsene then realized ren wasn’t joking and he immediately grabbed the cell bars screaming 

“ **ren! don’t do this i know you have been mad at me for annoying you but we can talk about this** ”

ren ignored arsene

” **RENN!!! YOU SON OF A-** “

”alright I think I’m good, take me back caroline”

ren went back to the real world leaving poor old arsene behind

” **that absolute bastard left me here** ”

”quiet, puppet”

arsene got extra mad when the little child wearing a warden uniform insulted him

” **you little munchkin, you dare insult me** ”

”I said quiet you!”

caroline went over and shocked arsene’s cell which made him paralyzed and grovel on the floor

igor who seemed distant in the conversation laughed

”so you’re arsene..”

“ **huh?** ”

arsene stood back up

”I see you’re the one that’s been pushing him forward”

” **yeah..?** ”

”then I wish you luck on your mission”

” **mission? what mission?-** “

carolone cut arsene off and she slapped the cell with her baton

”SHUSH INMATE”

” **ok jeez** ”

caroline closed solitary confinement as she looked at arsene’s face of shock and fear as he realized his fate

she smiled as the screams of arsene could be heard echoing in the chamber

* * *

_**Real world**_

after reappearing in the real world he took a breath of relief

” _he’s finally out of my hair for once_ ”

”hey ren?”

ren forgot morgana was in his bag and he didn’t enter into the velvet room with him

”yeah what’s up?”

”you mind telling me why you were standing still for a bit?”

“no reason but let’s go and meet back with the other two”

”sure....?”

ren walked out of the alleyway to meet back with the other two so they could head to the gym

* * *

Police department

akechi was on his phone in an empty hallway as he was talking to someone

”you started the attack, right?”

”after the festival huh, and that’s when the broadcast will be announced when the great ‘Medjed’ is revealed to smite them”

akechi grinned heavily

”perfect.. he won’t know what hit him”

akechi closed his phone and walked off as his scheme was starting to come together

soon he’ll finally take out that pesky nuisance of a ‘hero’

”those phantom thieves won’t know until their precious leader ren dies”

he chuckled lightly to himself as he walked off

”it’s time for his justice to finally end..”

as he walked off he did not notice the tape recorder that sat below him as he walked forward

unknown to akechi he was being not only recorded but watched by a certain detective that entered the corner

he walked over to where he had tactically placed the tape recorder picking it up and inspecting it

he hit the stop button and then looked at where akechi had left from

”so he knows one of heir names..ren..”

he stood there contemplating 

he chuckled to himself while reassuring his thoughts to call himself

”it must be a coincidence, there’s no way that he’d be it”

he walked in the opposite direction of where akechi went

he chose ignorance over the truth as he didn’t believe

ren would never be apart of that group I mean he wouldn’t..right

he stopped and stood there looking down at the tape recorder in his hand

”I hope I’m not right”

he put the recorder in his pocket and walked on to somewhere else besides there

* * *

mishima was on his phone

towel on his shoulders as he wiped the sweat off of his head

both ren and ryuji were sprawled on the floor out of breath and sweat hard

they were still in the gym and it seemed mishima who instead of exercising weaseled his way out of it and is now encouraging both ren and ryuji while keeping track of score on his phone

”I...won”

ren was out of breath as it seemed ryuji was a formidable foe for ren to take on

“no...you...didn’t”

ryuji slowly moved his head and looked to mishima

”yuuki...score”

mishima looked down at the two and then back at his phone

”uhhh...it’s tied 15 - 15”

”for...real..”

ryuji laid his head back on the ground

“truce...”

”sure..”

they called a truce as it seemed none of them were about to win this contest they were playing

both ren and ryuji pushed their bodies to their limits which ended up putting both of them on the floor as they tried to rest up

”hey guys”

”sup..”

”I never asked but what is this eyeball app on my phone? it’s kinda weird and suspicious”

”it’s how we enter and leave the metaverse, you know how we take down the bad guys”

ren sat up after catching his breath

”oh! so this is how you take down the bad guys”

mishima seemed really stoked about having this app on his phone

it was justified as the phantom thieves were the ones to save his life and he owes it to them

he opened the phan site intentionally to repay his debts but he wavered on it

was it enough?

he disagreed but he didn’t know how to really act on it

but the time was now for him to finally help the way he wants to

alongside his heroes

”h-hey ren”

mishima spoke nervously like a shy child trying persuade their mom for snacks or candy

”yeah?”

ren was chugging a bottle of water as he was fully dehydrated from his workout

”can I join you guys as a phantom thief?”

ren nearly choked on his water 

after he recovered he stared straight at mishima

”are you sure didn’t I tell you it was a big responsibility?”

“yes but the more I thought about it, im just sitting on the sidelines while you guys fight, having you guys do requests doesn’t sound right for me, I mean how can I pay you back like this”

”but you’re doing fine running the site”

”I know but I think I’m ready amd I want to join you guys in taking down bad guys”

ren chuckled

”how about you think about it first, being a thief is really tough and if you’re gonna he like us you’re gonna need to train like us”

”train like you?”

ryuji also got up and stared down at mishima

”yeahhh, just like your heroes”

both ryuji and ren had evil grins on their faces as they walked towards mishima

”guys...what are you gonna-AHH”

it was not even 40 minutes later but mishima had laid on the ground motionless and gasping for air

”whyyy.....”

he said with a weak breath as ren put a bottle of water next to his head

both ren and ryuji our mishima through hell as they made him do several do their exercises and intense workout

it left mishima dead on the floor from exhaustion

“to be honest I’d thought he fall after 20 minutes”

”yeah but when he fell off that treadmill it was priceless”

both ren and ryuji laughed at mishima’s suffering as they stood above him

after a bit more resting and exercising they all split up from the gym

* * *

 ren was in his way back home as they all left and went their separate ways after the gym

morgana stuck his head out of ren’s bag

“hey were you serious about mishima joining us on the team?”

”well yeah he seems like he has the right heart”

”some eye you got”

”I guess you can say it’s my..third eye”

ren chuckled while morgana sat there unphased

”I don’t get it”

” _I wish arsene was here, he’d understand...oh wait I forgot all about arsene_ ”

ren quickly headed home but not before bathing and getting into his bed

**_Velvet room_ **

ren woke up in his bed and he stood up the chain ball on his leg bouncing as he did

he immediately went to the bars and asked carolone to open solitary confinement

”hey can I have arsene back?”

”sure, take him”

caroline summoned the cell and opened it

out spilled arsene who looked like he’d gone through hell and back

he laid on the ground as caroline kicked him

”get up filthy shadow and go back to your master”

” **bastard...you absolute piece of shit...I’ll get you back for this...asshole** ”

arsene disappeared back into ren

”alright thanks for that, I’ll be on my way now”

ren was sent back to the real world

he merely slept for 30 minutes but he wanted to speak to the now exhausted arsene

”hey buddy..how was it?”

” **horrible and you are a terrible person** ”

”look on the bright side you are now no longer weak to bless magic”

” **there is a hot seat in hell for you** ”

”so I guess we are not on good terms”

” **I don’t like you** ”

”I’ll take that as a yes”

” **I swear on my dying breath I will do something to make you endure what I went through** ”

ren smiled “you wanna bet on that?”

after ren had a fun time teasing arsene he went back to sleep as he awaited for the summer festival tomorrow and he couldn’t wait

mainly to see ann in a yukata but for other reasons as well

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys,  
> I kinda want your opinion on this as I’m kinda in the fence about it  
> Should I add mishima as a main character?  
> I mean he’s one of the characters who’s had the most potential to be a phantom thief yet he was cast aside to be the fan boy and the supporter  
> And after going through the game and looking at his social link it’s really apparent to me that in my opinion his social link is probably one of my favorites out of all of the link that there are, at least like top 5 for me  
> So as a favor I kinda want your opinion on this
> 
> Should I add mishima as a main character and not as a support?
> 
> Please leave a comment on it I kinda want to see what you guys think about it


	59. Fireworks festival

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long chapter because it somehow ended up this way  
> :p

Morning

ann was waiting outside of the station like she always did

her and ren always walked together to school nowadays and she really liked it

although ren seemed to be running a bit late

she stood there fiddling with her hair as she waited for ren to show up

”sorry ann!..”

ann looked over and saw ren jogging towards her

”you’re late”

ann pouted as ren walked up to her

”my bad I had to wait for the next train”

ann looked away

”guess someone doesn’t deserve to hold my hands”

ren was told off by ann but it wasn’t gonna stop him from doing it anyways

ren held her hand but ann didn’t refuse it either

”you really wanted to hold my hand anyways didn’t you”

ann still didn’t look at ren as this was her way of ‘punishing’ ren for being late 

ren smiled as he nuzzled his face on her neck

”you still want to hold my hand don’t you”

”I just don’t want to ask”

ann was blushing as she was still embarrassed to do things couples do

“you’re so cute when you do things like this”

this made ann blush even more

ren’s teases were working way more than usual as ann was a bit more anxious 

“You seem more on edge lately”

”because I got a yukata and I don’t know if you’ll like it”

ren snickered “of course I’ll like it, don’t be so worried about it”

they both giggled and embraced eachother into a hug 

”you guys are like textbook couples I swear”

they both looked over and saw shiho obviously not in the mood and sick of seeing the couple acting all lovey dovey in the mornings

she dragged her body forward as she passed the couple

“hurry up you two or we’ll be late”

”right..”

the three managed their way to school after some more discussion and shiho telling the two about how she couldn’t sleep

* * *

ren sat in his class while the lesson was going on

he was still daydreaming about ann in a yukata

the image kept him mesmerized as he drifted off into another place

...

a white streak soared the front of the class to the back of the class straight towards ren

WHAM!

ren held his nose tightly as he just got slammed with a piece of chalk that was a millimeter away from slamming into his glasses and shattering them

”amamiya! pay attention”

”right..”

ren said weakly as he held his nose in pain and agony

ann who had turned around for a moment to see ren get hit looked at him worried for his sale

but she snorted as it was kinda funny to see ren get hit with a piece of chalk

” _arsene, why didn’t you warn me?_ ”

” **should I really help the guy who left me in the deep pits of hell for an entire evening** ”

” _you’re still on about that_ ”

” **you don’t understand the pain I went through** ”

arsene looked away from ren while ren still clenched his nose in pain

ren had his nose clenched the rest of the day as the lesson went on

* * *

after classes ann and ren sat together in the courtyard

ren had a cold can of juice on his nose while ann drunk her own can of juice

”does it still hurt?”

”a little but I think it’s starting to go away”

ann giggled at ren

”so what did you do to get you hit in the nose by a small piece of chalk?”

”i was daydreaming”

”hoohoo what were you dreaming about?”

”nothing much”

ren put down the can of juice as the pain withered away enough for him to not worry about

ann got real close to ren’s face as she had a smug look on his face

“what were you dreaming about?”

ren blushed in embarrassment as he didn’t think ann would be persistent with this topic

”nothing..”

the way ren day it made him sound very guilty which made ann even more suspicious and curious to what ren was dreaming about

”oh really?”

ann stepped over and sat in ren’s lap putting her arms around her neck while smiling and giggling as she did it

”ann what are you-“

”oh nothing..”

ann hummed a melody while ren became even more embarrassed

he saw out in the hallways were a bunch of envious male students and several female students gossiping as they saw the couple 

” _ah jeez_ ”

” **take it in pride or you won’t last** ”

” _this is still very embarrassing_ ”

” **pretend they’re not there and embarrass ann, I mean she’s perfectly open for you to do it** ”

“ _..you’re right_ ”

ren sighed but then smirked straight afterwards

arsene was right, ann was right there in the perfect position for him to tease her

he started it off by holding ann close to his chest as he laid his head on her head

ann grew anxious as she could feel ren’s heartbeat steadily

ren knew there were limits to how much ann could handle before blushing so he decided to tease her for the time being

ren grinned as he could tell ann was starting to blush more and more

he decided to tease her a bit more just because he felt like it and he genuinely enjoyed her reactions

so he decided he would try to push ann a bit

he started to rub ann’s head while the other hand was on her shoulder 

he pulled her even closer to his chest which seemed to work well on ann

her face was directly on his chest

ren could feel ann’s own heartbeat as it seemed she was feeling incredibly embarrassed

although ren couldn’t see it, ann was bright red as she didn’t know what to do in this situation 

she just held her arms around ren tightly as she didn’t want to let go

ren was fully sucked into the moment as it seemed it would be hard to take him out of it

”ahem!”

both ren and ann looked up to see haru smiling at them

haru giggled to herself as she saw how red ann was when she looked at her

”sorry, for intruding in your alone moment but I’m gonna need to borrow ann”

”why is that?”

ren was holding ann even closer as he didn’t want to let her go resulting in making her more red than before

”to prepare for the festival of course, and in shiho’s words I believe she told me ‘or else I will drop kick that glasses wearing frizzy haired jerk to next Tuesday’ what an odd way to tell someone we need to borrow a friend“

“oh...right the festival”

ann hesitated but she let go of ren but she did it very slowly as she still wanted to hug ren as she felt safe in his grasp

she walked off to haru but she turned around and gave ren a joyful smile

she waved off as both her and haru turned the corner and disappeared from his sight

ren laid back as he drank from his can of juice he still had

his started to buzz immediately as he started to drink

he answered his phone

”hello?”

[YOOOO REN!!]

ryuji called and immediately started to yell which made ren pull his phone back due to how loud ryuji was

”what do you want?”

[me and yuuki are over here hanging around the stands some people have already put up]

“already? isn’t it early”

[so what dude, its food]

ren sighed as ryuji really did only had two things on his mind all the time

girls and food

“I’ll be on my way..”

[alright see you there]

ren stood up and took the train home to go quickly change

* * *

while ren was in his attic changing he got a lot of notifications from his phone

mainly from the group chat they had

it seemed there was already a conversation happening

[Ry: hey, are you guys coming or not?]

[S: it’s too early for the festival we’ll go at either 5 or 6]

[Ry: but that’ll take foreverrrr]

[Y: by the way why is mishima here?]

[Ry: he’ll be our thief in training]

[Ry: and he’ll be joining us soon]

[Ma: so we have another member]

[H: yay! more friends]

[Ry: anyways us guys are gonna go before you guys]

[Ry: right ren?]

ren sighed and he had to respond

”they really are noisy”

”very”

morgana was also spying on ren’s phone as ren was nice enough to allow him to

[Re: sure, I’ll meet you there soon]

[Ry: niceeeee, any of you gals coming with?]

[A: sorry we’re trying to get into our yukatas so it’ll take a bit]

[Ry: it’s not that hard]

[A: shut up and we’ll meet you there at 5]

[Ry: fine]

[Ry: ren meet us at Shibuya square]

ren sighed as he closed the group chat

he did however have another message from someone else

from an annoying girl with a ponytail

[S: I’m guessing you’re not going in a yukata?]

[Re: no]

[S: then do you have contacts?]

[Re: yeah? why]

[S: why don’t you use them?]

[Re: I don’t like putting them on and off of my eyes and it’s irritating when I do]

[S: ok, but can you use those instead of your glasses]

[Re: explain?]

[S: you’re not wearing a yukata so it’ll be more commemorative if you went without them]

[Re: fine, I guess]

[S: alright see you then]

ren closed his phone and continued to get ready

” _shiho is so damn weird_ ”

” **I like her** ”

” _explains a lot about you_ ”

* * *

_**Haru’s suite** _

shiho closed her phone whilst grinning heavily

all the girls of the group had gathered at haru’s suite

makoto looked at the suite in awe of it

it was her first time actually going into haru’s house so she didn’t understand how huge it really was

”so this is your house haru?”

”yep, make yourself comfy”

makoto sat on her couch as she scanned her surroundings

”anyways, do you all have your yukatas?”

”yep me and ann brought ours when we went together”

shiho and ann held out theirs

”but haru what about yours?”

haru chuckled and clapped her hands which brought out her maid reiko to walk up to her and present the yukata by kneeling down and handing it her

”your yukata, miss”

”thank you reiko”

haru took her yukata from reiko’s hands and then showed it off to the other three

it was a pink yukata that seemed very expensive due to how luxurious it was from the way it gleamed I’m the light to how the silk was finely distributed and making perfect waves in it

”that looks very nice haru”

ann seemed envious as it looked like ren was going to be wowed by haru’s yukata and not hers

“don’t worry ann-chan, ren will love yours”

”you think so?”

shiho was already fed up with ann being self conscious

she knew for a fact ren neither cared for anyone else romantically other than ann and she suspected ren had a thing for blondes so she was sure of it at this point 

”ann, stop being a worry wort of course he will”

”you don’t know that”

”ann, how many times have you said ren won’t like it when it was true?”

”like 3 times”

”and how many of those times has he complimented you?”

”all of them..”

”exactly, now stop being a prune”

”alright...but-“

“he won’t”

shiho put it plain and simple for ann to understand as she was more of an airhead then she anticipated

“so shall we start preparing?”

they all nodded and went over to start putting on their yukatas

* * *

****meanwhile ren was in Shibuya looking for ryuji and mishima

ren saw the pair and walked over to see them leaning against a wall chatting about something

”where’s yusuke?”

“he’ll come in later during the festival, so it’ll just be the 3 musketeers for now”

ryuji high fived mishima as they were getting more and more pumped to go out

ren was already about to lose his mind and he just arrived to meet the two

”hey ren why aren’t you wearing your glasses?”

ryuji pointed out the fact that ren wasn’t wearing his glasses

”shiho told me to not where as a commemoration or something for the group”

”cool, anyways guys shall we go and get some grub?

”greaaat, ryuji is leading the charge”

morgana dissed ryuji as he was peeking his head out of ren’s bag

”you said something ren?”

mishima was confused of the voice he heard talking was coming out of ren 

“no..?”

”then who was speaking?”

”I think he means me”

morgana leaked his head out of ren’s bag so that mishima could see him

mishima laughed it off “haha ren I never knew you were such a good ventriloquist, that’s such a cool ability to have”

”yeah ren what an ability to have”

morgana was playing along with mishima

“mishima that’s not me”

”what are you talking about? that’s obviously you, there isn’t a thing called a talking cat that exists in this world”

”so ren should I tell him or are you?”

”mishima this is morgana the talking cat that’s talking to you..right now”

mishima took what ren said seriously and he didn’t take it well

”that’s...impossible what do you mean?”

morgana jumped out of ren’s bag onto the ground while mishima stared at him in pure shock and disbelief

”I’m morgana and I’m a human in a cat’s body”

mishima pointed at morgana out his finger shook as he didn’t know how to react

”a-a-a talking cat?”

“that’s right, I’m a magical cat that grants wishes”

mishima fell to the ground while morgana stepped closer to him

”a m-monster cat??”

”no, not a monster nor a cat..IM A MAGICIAN MUAHAHAHA-“

ren picked up the cat and shoved him back into his bag before a scene would start

after ren stuffed the cat in his bag he looked back to mishima

”he’s our special cat that can access the metaverse, the only reason you can hear him is because you have been into the metaverse which allows you to understand him..for some reason”

”so he’s not a witch that’s out for my blood?”

”no!? what kind of sick fantasy do you live in?”

”one where I don’t die..?”

ren sighed “you’re an idiot”

mishima stood back up after recollecting his composure and sanity

”can we skip the shit chat about the cat and get some grub?”

ryuji was already fed up as it’s been a full 30 minutes and they haven’t even gotten any food yet

”sure, you know any certain parts in Tokyo where they’re shops?”

”there’s some downtown I think, I remember getting some nice meat on a stick or something like that”

”you mean a kebab?”

”yeah that one!”

ren groaned as he knew for a fact it was gonna he long day if he was gonna rag along with ryuji

* * *

they went downtown where they saw a bunch of stands starting to open up

some were still setting up as it wasn’t dark yet 

but ryuji made it a goal to go to each and every food stand that served meat and try one of their foods

both mishima and ren looked on as ryuji seemed to be blowing his cash on food

after coming back with a face full of food and some more on a plate he grabbed from one of the stands

”you should try some of these, they’re soooo good”

mishima took one of the meat sticks and started to eat it

”this really is good”

”I know” ryuji held his plate out to ren “you want some?”

“why not..”

ren reluctantly took one of them and started to eat it

ren started to eat more and more of it as he didn’t expect this simple piece of meat to be so good and chewy

”this is good”

”hey! let me try!”

ren pointed the stick over his shoulder so that morgana could have some nibbles on it

”this really is good, I didn’t think ryuji was capable of finding a good spot like this”

”I appreciate the compliment even though it insulted me as well”

”you’re welcome”

the three went along with their business going to different stands and getting more food along the way

eventually the sun was starting to set finally and the festival was about to truly start as basically every stand was basically open and people were flooding the streets

”you think it’s time to meet the others”

”yusuke sent me a message saying he was at the station so we should probably”

”wait..how long ago?”

”4 minutes ago”

”and you didn’t tell me until now?”

”we’ll I wanted to get another bite”

”let’s just go before he waits longer”

the three made their way back to the Shibuya station as they went searching for yusuke

but they didn’t look far as yusuke stuck out like a sore thumb with his dark blue yukata that matched his hair perfectly

“you’re late”

”my bad yusuke, also nice yukata”

”thank you I was wanting to get into the spirit of this festival and decided to get a yukata as well”

”well it suits you well”

”it’s a pleasure to meet you kitagawa-san”

”please, we are going to be teammates soon so you might as well address me as yusuke”

”alright then can you call me yuuki?”

”very well as it should be fair to us both”

”alrighty then yusuke”

”pleasure is all mine yuuki”

both mishima and yusuke had become friends in that very moment

” **seems this could go well for us** ”

” _of course it would all thanks to my careful planning_ ”

” **ok don’t let yourself in the back too much, your head might grow as big as a balloon** ”

whilst both yusuke and mishima were taking two girls walked up to yusuke 

“hey are you a model cause you look really in a yukata”

”I appreciate the comment but I am not a model”

the two girls giggled

ryuji looked at this and saw it as a golden opportunity

”ren we should do it”

”speak for yourself I’m already dating someone”

”she doesn’t have to know”

after ryuji finished that sentence he had to instantly back track as ren gave him the meanest stink eye

”t-then yuuki what about you? let’s try and get these ladies”

”a-alright I won’t let you down”

ryuji turned around and gave a big smile to the two

”hey ladies would you consider hanging out with us as well?”

the two girls look at ryuji in disgust but they eyed at both ren and mishima

they walked past ryuji and went up to ren and mishima

“hey you two guys are pretty cute”

”I-I-I am??”

mishima was a nervous wreck

the girl put her finger on mishima’s chest

”you’re a cutie why don’t we go out to eat?”

”u-u-u-u-u-u-ummmm”

mishima couldn’t formulate words as he was too flustered to even think

while mishima was short circuiting the other girl was trying to get closer to ren

”hey you look like a bad boy, why don’t you come with us we could use some protection around these parts”

”I’m sorry but I’m-“

the other girl latched on to ren’s arm

”aww come on why don’t we go somewhere”

the girl was very persistent on ren which was amplified due to how he looked without his glasses

” **hey ren you could get one of the harems** ”

” _arsene I’m not doing that_ ”

” **awww come on you have the looks you would totally be able to pull it off** ”

” _if I tried I feel like I would be beat up and left on the ground dead_ ”

” **a small price to pay for a harem** ”

”that’s enough”

both of the girls looked over to see yusuke with a scowl on his face

”I think you have soiled your yukatas enough with this indecent behavior of yours, so if you will please leave my friends alone and be on your way”

the two girls looked at eachother before letting go of both ren and mishima and stepping away

after they left ryuji slumped over

”aww come on how come I’m the only one that’s singled out, you all got hit on by those girls”

”we’re supposed to meet with the others not go with some random people”

”but they were soooo hot”

ryuji again too infatuated with women to really notice the angry group of 4 girls behind him ready to spike him down any second

”at least yusuke is the only one with a level head here, even though he may have gone a bit too far”

ryuji turned around to see the 4 girls in their yukatas looking at ryuji with compete and total disgust and hatred

”so then boys what do you think?”

shiho was awaiting her appraisal for her yukata by the other guys

”you look very good”

yusuke gave a simple response while mishima couldn’t formulate words still due to the girl hitting on him and coming real close to him

”thanks yusuke you look very elegant with your yukata”

”thank you”

she grinned at ren who followed what she said as he wore contacts and not his usual glasses

”so ren, I see you’re wearing contacts”

the other three girls noticed while shiho was snickering to herself

”you look nice..”

makoto complimented ren as she never saw ren without his glasses before so it was a new sight to behold

”thanks and so do all of you”

ren scanned through the group until he stopped at haru’s yukata as hers seemed to shimmer in the light

”that’s a very extravagant yukata haru”

”why thank you”

ann walked up to him and immediately without hesitating grabbed his arm

”ann..?”

ann pouted

”I can’t leave you alone for a second without hussies trying to take you away”

ann was a bit red in the face as she held onto ren tightly

”you look nice”

ren gave her a smile which prompted her to giggle and smile as well

”well in any case we should go before the streets get even more crowded than before”

the group exited the station and tried to go into the influx of people that were piled in the streets

the streets were filled to the brim with people as they all wanted to the see the fireworks

the group couldn’t get past or manage their way through the crowd so they had to settle with whatever they could get

they couldn’t use haru’s limo as it couldn’t get through the crowd in time for the fireworks

the fireworks then went off before they knew it

they weren’t able to get a good view of it as buildings covered their sight lines of the festival

”damn I told you guys we should’ve gotten here early”

ryuji was slightly frustrated as he planned for everyone to go earlier

”didn’t expect it to be this packed”

a drop of water hit morgana’s face and he immediately retreated to ren’s bag

another drip fell

then another

and soon enough it was starting to rain heavily

the group had to retreat to under a convenience store

the rain kept pouring down so much that a nearby flood warning was issued and some officers closed the roads

everyone was soaked from the rain

morgana was the only one not fully wet as ren’s bag was a pretty good place for a cat to hide in

”I didn’t want to get this wet and look at it” ann was saddened by the fact her yukata got wet so she tried to squeeze some of the water out

”ann..” makoto lightly elbowed her only to grab her attention

”hmm?”

she pointed over to the group of boys who were totally not looking at her exposed thigh

except ren who seemed to not even notice ann’s thigh slip as he was trying to get the water out of his ears

”hey you mind getting me a towel?”

ann first asked ryuji who was the closest to her

”why don’t you ask ren?”

”ren?”

”sure why don’t we all go inside so we can stay out of the rain”

the group agreed and they went into the store

the store was also packed with people who had the same idea as them

ren had bought the group some towels so they could dry themselves off

”thanks ren”

ann smiled at him but her smile turned into a drool

ren took off his outer shirt as he wanted to squeeze the water out of his shirt before he tried drying his hair

his black undershirt wasn’t the thickest shirt he had but it was pretty thin

but it was thin enough for people to see his abs through

”I wish I brought a jacket if there was gonna be rain like that here”

”ren I didn’t know you were so jacked”

mishima was really impressed as he didn’t know ren was so built

”thanks to the metaverse it’s been really easy”

”yeah I can tell not only that they’re a huge chick magnet”

ryuji was being envious again

”it’s not that bad”

”tell that to the group of girls looking at you”

ryuji pointed behind him where he saw the group of girls trying to look away from staring at ren’s body and ann who was just drooling

after ren squeezed all fo the water from his shirt he put it back on

”perverts..”

once the rain started to let up the group split up

* * *

ren was heading back to leblanc while he was still patting his head with the towel he bought

” **they all could be under your fingers~** ”

” _not starting a harem_ ”

” **you’re no fun** ”

ren was about to open the door when he saw sojiro speaking to a woman

the same woman he saw when he and haru were working in the shop

he opened the door and stepped in

”so then I believe I’ll resolve the issue later one I put another investigation on you”

”huh? what’s that suppose to mean?”

”it means that ill prove those charges against you and that’s that”

the woman stepped out of the shop

sojiro looked very stressed out

”what was that about?”

”don’t stick your nose in other people’s businesses, but now that you’re here clean up the place I’ll leave it up to you”

sojiro stepped out and ren went to cleaning the shop

a news broadcast came on while ren was cleaning up

[in other news it seems the international hacker group Medjed was sent a warning to the phantom thieves]

ren picked up his head as he stared at the tv

[to the phantom thieves you are not the sign of true justice all of what you speak of is false and untrue]

[you will have two options you can either A: repent your ways and become on of us or B: stay the way you are and let the hammer of true justice fall on you]

[and that was the threat that Medjed has sent for the phantom thieves now then what are your thoughts akechi-san]

ren didn’t even think twice before shutting off the tv

he leaned near the counter as he pondered

”ren why’d you turn it off akechi was going to speak”

”he’s the last person I want to hear”

morgana looked at him confused

” **so what’s your hypothesis** ”

” _it may be real or a fake but I can’t take chances_ ”

” **I wish you luck in that** ”

ren stood back up

”head upstairs I’ll meet you there”

morgana climbed off of the counter and scurried upstairs

”this may be an issue”

once ren finished cleaning up he went upstairs to head for bed while he thought of a plan


	60. Alibaba’s request

it was lunch break the three boys had gathered together in order to figure out what they should do

it was the day after Medjed’s first threat against the phantom thieves and ren was already wanting to deal with them as soon as possible

“what are the messages saying mishima?”

”nothing that’ll help us”

both ren and mishima were looking at the phan site

”this is so messed up, how are we supposed to deal with this?”

ryuji was frightened by all of this which was justified

medjed has taken out huge hacker organizations in the past and even some crime organizations too

they weren’t meant to be taken lightly

even though the group could take them out easily what could they do

they been scouring trying to find out their names

”any luck mishima?”

”no, none on my end”

both ren and mishima were still trying to look for any info on this Medjed organization

“wait ren”

”yeah ryuji?”

”what about alibaba”

”ali-who?”

mishima didn’t know who this alibaba was

”alibaba, some hacker chick who found out ren’s identity and she’s been helping us thus far”

”creepy..”

”anyways ren try to contact her”

ren pulled out his phone but didn’t even need to open it for alibaba to contact him

[Al: I hear you]

”that’s the creep for you”

he showed off the message she sent to the other two

[Al: anyways you need help with Medjed right?]

“any way for you to help us?”

[Al: at a price]

”I have to pay you!?”

[Al: no you moron I want you to change someone’s heart and I’ll make Medjed disappear]

“you’ll really do that for us?”

[Al: sure as long as you do my request]

”sure what’s the request?”

after that alibaba didn’t seem to respond again

”hello?”

no response 

“is she gone?”

ryuji was scratching his head

”I guess she’s not responding anymore”

”what do you mean she’s our ticket out of this mess!?”

”I told you I don’t know”

“we should tell this to others”

”right, mishima we’ll have to postpone your training to be a thief for later”

”that’s alright this is way more important than my training”

* * *

it was afterschool and the group met up in Shibuya to discuss their plans to deal with this infamous hacker group

”so this is all she left me”

ren was showing of the conversation to the others

”so alibaba is having us do a trade for our protection”

”seems so but if she’s telling us to change a heart for her maybe to be taking out two birds with one stone”

”taking out a hacker group and a shitty adult, I like it”

ryuji was already on board with the plan

makoto was still skeptical about it

”even though this may be our best bet, what might she have us do?”

”take out a shitty adult..?”

”it can’t be that simple ryuji consider where we are right now”

”makoto is right, what if alibaba is playing nice to get what she wants”

yusuke was the most skeptical about alibaba

it made sense as yusuke couldn’t really trust anyone who’s helped him

he knew madarame for his entire life yet madarame betrayed his trust for the entirety of him being there

”but she helped us with kaneshiro and when ren got kidnapped so we can at least see her out”

ann trusted alibaba as she was able to help ren out with kaneshiro and she doesn’t know how else to pay her back for that she basically owed her for that whole ordeal

”how about this, ren contacts alibaba and we will all see if there’s any info on the hacker group”

”I don’t think that’ll be possible”

mishima butted in the conversation as he kept looking at his phone

”if what you’re telling me is right this hacker really is our only bet for this”

”what makes you say that mishima?”

”ever since that news broadcast I’ve been searching through the internet to find any info about that, and all I’ve learned is that even if we find info about one there’s multiple people apart of Medjed”

”so what you’re saying is that even if we target one person it may not guarantee that Medjed will be taken down”

”basically, who knows what happen but we’re not in real danger yet I mean they haven’t threatened us or anything-“

mishima paused as he looked back at his phone

“what’s up yuuki?”

”take a look at this”

mishima turned his phone around to show the group a message left by Medjed

”it’s in English so I can’t really decipher it”

”I’ll take a swing at it”

ann stepped forward and read the message

”The Phantom thieves remain silent at our question, this proves we are just. people of japan wake up you must not worship the phantom thieves. we will discipline any who worship them the punishment is the confiscation of possessions, we are medjed we are unseen we will eliminate evil”

after ann read that post the others looked at it shocked 

“possessions? does that mean they’ll take people items away like their money?”

haru was severely worried about this as she didn’t think this was capable

”bank accounts, identities, and any other personal info..will those be taken as well?”

”seems so they don’t seem to be playing around anymore”

ren was ticked off by this threat as he felt very uneasy about it all

”but why are we being targeted aren’t there like millions of other criminals for them to take out”

ryuji was frustrated on how two groups couldn’t work together to stop evil but now it seemed they wanted all out personal glory

”ryuji shhh”

shiho was looking around and saw everyone staring at them

”let’s talk somewhere more private”

”private like where?”

”what about leblanc”

the group all agreed while mishima stood there confused

”leblanc?”

”it’s where ren lives now come on we have no time to chit chat”

”wait ren lives in a cafe?”

“yes, now let’s go”

their plan today to discuss more about Alibaba was about start now

”who do you think alibaba is?”

shiho was curious to how the others thought alibaba looked like

”maybe some like smart scientist”

”or a government official”

”what about someone in the military”

they all pictured who this alibaba really was

I mean what would a mastermind who’s a hacking genius look like?

it has to be some highly sophisticated intelligent individual to be able to do what she’s done

maybe even a high class person who’s in the government

or some secret society

or maybe both

* * *

or neither

futaba has prepared herself to finally leave sojiro’s house

but for specific reasons

after she mentally prepared herself she opened the door and stepped out

futaba was right outside of the door to her house

she was shaking very nervously

its been a loooong while since she’s stepped out of her house so she wasn’t used to it

she was taking deep breaths

she also had her hood up even thought it was hot summer day and the sun was still blaring

“come on Futaba you have to do this, you got this, you got this!”

a bird hawked above her and she coward in fear at the doorstep

”I hate the outside!!!”

she stood back up once she regained her composure

”i have to deliver this, it’s the only way I can be helped and for these nightmares to stop”

she had a letter in her hand

in it contained an empty red card

her plan was simple

carefully walk over to leblanc without attracting attention 

carefully leave the letter at leblanc’s doorstep

knock on the door

and make a quick easy getaway once sojiro walks over to pick it up

simple

easy

efficient

there was only one major flaw

futaba hated the outside world with a burning passion

“okay, one step then another, then another...then another.....NRGHHHH I CAN’T DO THIS!!!”

”how do normal people do this it’s so nerve wracking I can’t stand it”

an idea then popped in her head

”what if I get sojiro to send it! then he could...”

the she realized how unsuccessful her plan would be

”wait then the letter wouldn’t be anonymous”

it seemed Futaba had no other choice than to send the letter directly herself

she took slow and careful steps as she slowly exited onto the street

she was looking all around paranoid in case anything would’ve attacked her and if they did she would be ready

CHIRP

”ahh!”

futaba took a karate stance as she looked at a small bird who turned its head as it stared at her

futaba stomped her foot on the ground which made the bird fly away

”stupid bird”

futaba took more deep breaths as she calmed her nerves down

she kept treading forward her held high

and then she saw people were staring directly at her and it took all her might to not go into a corner and cry

she was only a few steps away from leblanc’s front door

but there was a fatal miscalculation

it seemed ren and his friends were on their way to leblanc

futaba had to act fast or else they would see her

and she would be too embarrassed and unprepared for this encounter

so she did the most logical move

she slapped the letter on the door and ducked under the laundromat while she saw the group walk up to leblanc

”hey ren look, a letter and it has your name on it!”

“I know ryuji I have eyeballs too”

futaba witnessed as they took off the letter and walked into the cafe

”fufufu my plan has worked successfully”

futaba ran out of the laundromat and ran all the way back home whilst looking back

”as expected of the great aliba-!!”

a giant thud was heard as futaba wasn’t paying attention to where she was running as she slammed her body straight into a light post with a good amount a force

she fell to the ground but slowly got back up

a few tears slipped out but she ran all the way back home whilst holding her head in pain and trying not to bawl her eyes out until she got inside

”I HATE THE OUTSIDE!!”

she made it home and shut the door right behind her

* * *

inside leblanc the group walked in

”hey boss you kind of we use the cafe to discuss our summer plans?”

sojiro looked at the group and the newest addition

”I see you have a new face along with you”

”oh yeah that’s mishima”

”h-hello”

mishima was nervous for some particular reason, maybe because he’s not used to meeting new people

”also I found this note with my name on it on the front door”

ren showed sojiro the letter

sojiro simply shrugged his shoulders

”nothing I know about it, but I’ll leave the shop to you guys and try not to make a mess I have to go take care of something”

a buzz came from sojiro’s phone

”I guess that’s my cue to leave”

sojiro exited the shop while speaking to someone in the phone who was chatting up a storm

”I get it, I get it I’ll get you an ice pack..”

once sojiro exited the store the group sat down and looked at the letter that was addressed for ren

ren opened it but all there was nothing but an empty red card

”a calling card?”

”did it say who sent it?”

ren flipped the letter around to see if there was any writing on it

”no..?”

”an empty calling card what could that mean?”

the group tried to figure out a reason

ren felt several buzzes from his phone during that

”oi, your phone is ringing”

morgana poked around ren’s pocket while ren took out his phone to check who it was

”wait alibaba just messaged me again”

the group immediately picked their head up to look at ren

”what did she say?”

ren showed the group the chatlog

[Al: I see you got the letter safe and soundly]

”were you the one that sent it?”

[Al: could be, but now that you have it you can do my request]

“request..?”

[Al: yeah the request]

[Al: the reason I gave you that calling card I’m the first place]

[Al: I need you to steal someone’s heart and in return I’ll help you out with your issues, right?]

”we need a name for it to actually work”

shiho was having doubts on her theory of who alibaba could be

[Al: wait you need a name for you to steal someone’s heart?]

”yeah..”

[Al: so if you don’t have a name then the whole heart stealing process is a bust?]

”yeah...”

[Al: shoot]

[Al: well it does make sense all of your work has involved a calling card along with their name printed right on it]

the group looked at one another with blank expressions

they didn’t expect alibaba to not know about this if she’s been scouring for the heart thief for more than 2 years and now the phantom thieves for a few months

[Al: all right I just have to give you their name]

[Al: just give me a moment]

the group sat there for a few minutes wondering what alibaba was looking for

if only they saw futaba’s breathing exercises and other calming techniques just so that she could send the message

[Al: okay their name is futaba sakura]

”Sakura..?”

[Al: alright I believe that’s all you need now in order to steal their heart]

[Al: also if you fail the request I’ll leak all of your names and personal info to the police without a second thought]

[Al: I wish you luck in stealing their heart]

[Al: so uh chop chop and get it done I’ll check up when you have finished the request]

after that alibaba didn’t send another message

and ren couldn’t seem to contact her in any way possible

”futaba sakura...isn’t the last name oddly familiar?”

haru was on to something

”yeah the last name of sojiro...sojiro sakura”

”this can’t be just a coincidence either”

makoto dug even more through her texts as she was very weary on her request

”she didn’t even say anything else along with the request, along with the fact sakura is the last name of the owner and the way she said it, this could mean that whoever futaba is must be close to sojiro”

she looked straight at ren

”does sojiro have any family around here?”

”I’m not sure the only family I know he has is a..daughter”

the group then realized what this could lead to

“how do you know about this?”

”when me and haru were working at the shop some man who claimed to be related to this daughter”

”so what you’re saying is that this girl who we are searching for is the target alibaba wants us to take down, but there has to be an underlying reason for her to target this person”

it seemed to be clear cut at this point whoever alibaba was, had at least some kind of connection to sojiro

“why don’t you ask boss? he might know something” ann suggested

”I’ve tried once before but maybe if I try to go even further I may find something, now that I know her name”

”you should, maybe we will be able to know more about this futaba person”

”but what do we do about the whole palace thing we need more than someone’s name”

”sleep on it, we need more than just a name so we should pry more later”

definitely not an excuse for ryuji to go home and take a nap

”you know for the first time that sounds like the best thing to do in this situation”

makoto surprisingly agreed with ryuji

* * *

[you’re right let’s just save this for later and we’ll deal with it soon]

futaba was sitting in front of her computer screen listening into the entire conversation as she sat there shocked and confused

”why!?”

she slammed her hand on her desk but then retracted immediately holding her hand in pain

”why aren’t they doing it? I need them right now”

” _face it, you’ll never get rid of me you’ll suffer FOR THE REST OF ETERNITY_ ”

futaba held here head tightly whilst crying

”no, go away please!!”

she hid her head into her knees as a ghostly figure stood behind her

her sobbing was apparent as the ghostly figures slowly dissipated

”I...I..I can’t take this anymore..”

she held her knees close to her face as she sobbed for the rest of the evening

”help....me...”


	61. Futaba Sakura

Daytime

_**SIU building** _

sae was on her laptop looking at files on a flash drive she always kept

”Wakaba Isshiki...a scientist known for her studies for cognitive research”

she gripped her fists together as she knew that she was getting closer to her own goal

”this is exactly what I’ve been looking for”

she had gotten some info on a type of scientific research that involves the human subconscious

cognitive psience

something that she suspected would help her find what truly happened to her father

but she had no lead as the only person who really had good knowledge was Wakaba Isshiki

but the issue with that was she was one of the targets that sadly bit the dust

she suffered a mental shutdown case exactly like how her father did

black substance on her eyes

her brain completely stopped working

and that facial expression something that all of the victims have had in their face

but she still had one single lead left

sojiro sakura

owner of the small cafe located in Yongen-Jaya

an ex government official who had ties with Wakaba and apparently took in Wakaba’s daughter as well even putting his name as her surname

an interesting character indeed

he has many ties with the police force and other official in Tokyo

yet he chose to run away from it all to set up a cafe

even though he’s no longer apart of the government he knows a lot about Wakaba die to their relationship until her death

she started to pack up her laptop

”guess it’s time I pry into him”

”pry into who?”

sae turned around to see Kazuma Amamiya standing behind her with that same goofy smile he always had along with his slick brown overcoat

”nothing you need to know or stick your nose into”

she packed up her laptop and stood up from her chair

kazuma bright smile went into a concerned frown

”you’re still going for that mental shutdown case aren’t you?”

“like I said none of your business”

”Wakaba Isshiki, known researcher for her work on cognitive psience...isn’t it?”

”shut up and leave me alone”

she went to go walk away

”you know I was a good friend of your father’s, you’re not the only one that was affected”

she stopped in her tracks

”what you know isn’t even surface level”

she went to go walk away from the detective

”try not to push yourself!”

sae stopped once more and looked back at the detective who had a smile on his face

she scoffed at him and kept walking away

and passing a small corridor on her way out

in the corridor was akechi as he witnessed the events slowly unfold as he stared at sae smugly

giving an evil grin as she did

* * *

**_leblanc_ **

sojiro stood behind the counter watching tv while ren stood in the kitchen working on his curry

”hey kid make sure you don’t use too many ingredients”

”I won’t”

the bell on the door rang signaling someone had entered the cafe

sojiro looked and was about to greet them

”hello there what would you lik-“

he stopped dead in his tracks as he saw who it was that was in his cafe

the same lawyer that entered his cafe before during the fireworks festival 

seemed she had more to say this time around

she sat down at a chair while sojiro nervously walked up to her

”how may I help you?”

ren was in the back tucked away in the kitchen listening to the conversation away from her sight lines

”I think you know why I’m here”

”like I said I don’t know anything else I’ve told you all i know”

”I think otherwise, unless..”

she dropped a document on the counter with the description of someone

she put her finger on the name of the file

”futaba sakura, the daughter of wakaba isshiki and the child who you’ve been keeping in your house for the past 2 years and from the investigations I’ve carried out so far, seems to violate your parental right if these allegations that have been thrown to you are true”

”what are you talking about?”

”I could always drop the charges and forget about all of the misdeeds you’ve done for a small fee”

”like I said I don’t know anything else!”

sojiro seemed to be in desperation

ren wanted to help but his intuition and arsene told him to stay quiet

”so then you are willing to give up your daughter for some flimsy file that contains to significance to you?”

”they don’t need to be in the hands of someone who isn’t capable of handling such information like you”

”so then it does exist after all?”

sojiro choked on his words and the lawyer seemed to be getting on his head and toying with him

”it doesn’t and even if it did why would someone like you want it?”

”for a case that I’ve been tasked to be on and that’s it”

”and how does that involve Wakaba?”

”well like I said she specialized in cognitive psience and had a lot of details on it, and I know how much people wanted her research and the fact she was one of the first victims in the mental shutdown case”

ren who stood in the kitchen nearly losing himself but slowly caved in to his own thoughts

he gulped as he thought about it

he stop stirring the curry as he kept thinking about it nearly losing his cool and letting his frustration boil

he gritted his teeth as he gripped the spoon tighter 

“a _kechi killed her mom??”_

” **seems he did a lot when he went to Tokyo at that time** ”

” _that piece of shit!..and to think I gave him a good farewell until he came back_ ”

” **so it seems this got even more personal now** ”

” _to think I was the one who encouraged him to go to Tokyo in the first place and yet he does this_ ”

” **seems akechi always had an ulterior motive** ”

” _but to kill innocent people it’s unacceptable_ ”

” **alright let’s leave the akechi hating for later I think she’s saying something even more serious right now** ”

while ren was in the kitchen hiding himself away sae was getting further and further into sojiro’s head

”and see how you and her had a pretty close relationship with one another I’d say you’re one of the only people she trusted”

”and..?”

”so then I’d like to make a deal”

”what would that involve?”

”well one your cooperation, two everything you know about wakaba’s research and three you total secrecy on the matter and if you followed all three of those rules I’ll make things a little easier for you”

sojiro glanced at the kitchen where ren was then back to sae

”fine..but can we take this somewhere else I don’t want customers to be coming during this”

”absolutely”

sae stood up and walked to the entrance turning around to make sure sojiro was following her which he was

they both left the shop and sojiro flipped the open side to closed

after they both left ren stepped out of the kitchen

”I need to tell the others about this”

ren pulled out his phone to go contact his friends for them to met up

* * *

the group huddled together in leblanc as soon as they got the message

ryuji finished sipping his drink he got on the way to leblanc and then crushed it in his hands while pointed at ren in frustration

”dude! that’s messed up”

”that is very unlike boss”

”tell me about it but it really does seem futaba is related to sojiro”

ren told the group all he heard in the conversation that only happened a few minutes before

”but boss is a suitable parent right?”

”I don’t know the man a lot but there’s no way he could be an abuser, he’s not the type”

”well have you asked him about futaba?”

”no, but when he was talking to that lawyer he was very dodgy of the subject and didn’t even want to bring her up”

”seems like that’s all boss might do”

the group we’re all thinking together in order to find a solution

when suddenly

BZZ BZZ

morgana tapped ren on his glasses

”your phone is ringing”

ren picked up his phone to see alibaba was typing to them again

[Al: why aren’t you doing the job?]

[Al: you have everything you need]

ren showed off the messages to the group

”she is a very needy person” yusuke didn’t like how alibaba was behaving

”hey alibaba can we meet in person?”

[Al: meet in person?]

[Al: that’ll be hard for me]

”but we just want to talk to you about the job”

[Al: do you have to have direct contact for you to steal a heart?]

[Al: if so then the deal is off]

”wait you can’t call the deal off!”

[Al: I can and I will]

[Al: deal is off and that’s final I will now cut off anymore contact with you]

after that ren couldn’t message not talk to alibaba anymore

”seems she won’t contact us anymore but I have a suspicion”

“what’s that makoto”

”what if futaba is alibaba, it’d make sense as alibaba didn’t ask for money she plainly said can you steal futaba sakura’s heart she didn’t stall or give a reason so it might correct”

”you know that’s very plausible mako-chan I think you’re in to something”

”it goes even further than that not only does alibaba know of futaba’s condition but she doesn’t know if the deed would be done so I think that makes it even more conclusive”

”so alibaba is futaba, impressive mako-chan”

”that’s our student prez for you”

”ooh! ooh! I have another theory” ryuji bubbled up as he looked like he had something useful to add on

”alright ryuji what’s your theory?”

ren stood there anxiously as he thought ryuji had something else to add

”what if alibaba is sojiro’s ex wife and she trying to send us a message or something”

everyone stared at ryuji as he said the most ridiculous thing to ever be said

mishima and haru gave ryuji a soft look of disapproval while everyone looked at him like he was stupid

”ryuji, just shut up”

”the most ridiculous thing you could’ve said”

”at least he’s..creative”

”creatively idiotic”

”anyways back to the topic at hand, how are we gonna deal with this..”

ryuji gave out a large burp which again interrupted the group and had everyone stare at him and in particular had makoto staring directly into his soul

”ryuji..any ideas?”

makoto crosses her arms as she looked at ryuji whole ryuji still looked relaxed

”why don’t we just sleep on the whole thing it’s not like Medjed have done anything so far it’s just empty threats”

“that may be true but we can’t be sure”

”it’ll be fine it’s not like anything bad will happen-“

mishima got a ring on his phone

it was a bit embarrassing as it was a pop song by a female idol that’s well known in japan

”hehe...don’t mind me”

mishima picked up his phone and opened it to see what the fuss was

”anyways should we go get something to eat since we are all here?”

”I’m down, what about you guys-“

”umm...guys”

”yeah?”

mishima turned his phone around to show a green card with English text on it

”it’s a new thing that Medjed put up just now

“ann..what does that say”

ann looked closer as she read the text

”they’re giving us a deadline before they ‘cleanse japan’ and it’s the 21st”

mishima started to freak out “so we’re screwed if we don’t do something about it?”

”seems we now have a new objective”

”w-what’s that ren??”

”save futaba by stealing her heart it’s the only way for us to stop Medjed from cleansing us”

ren as a leader had a calm collected mind as all leaders should have

the rest of the group unanimously agreed as well

”so then how do we do it?”

shiho caught ren as he didn’t think that far ahead so he tripped up there

”that I don’t know”

ren put down his head as he didn’t know the answer to that

”wait ren do you know where sojiro lives?”

”uhh he lives like right behind leblanc why’s that?”

“then if futaba is his daughter then that must mean she is in his house currently if she’s 14 years old, she can’t exactly go anywhere”

”will that be ok though I might get in trouble in sojiro caught me sneaking in his house and I may have to stay at my dad’s apartment”

”wait your dad has an apartment here?”

”not important, anyways makoto do we just go in and try to see if she’s there?”

“sounds like a good plan and if anything we can just use ren as bait since he’s the one who’s had contact with alibaba and he might be the most trusted in her eyes”

shiho decided it’d be smart to change the plan and use ren as a scapegoat just in case

”if I get into any trouble I’m putting the burden on you”

”it’s fine it won’t happen I’m sure of it, and even if sojiro kicked you out of his attic you could always stay at ann’s place~”  
shiho snickered while both ann and ren grew a bit red

”shiho!”

”what wouldn’t you want to be next to ‘your knight in shining armor’ “

ann grew even more red as shiho referenced some of their texts they sent back and forth a few days ago

“alright let’s just go before boss comes back and we lose the chance to talk to futaba”

”y-yeah let us”

ann still had a red face as she went to the entrance

the group walked out of the cafe except ren who wanted to be extra careful just in case and went upstairs to grab a lock pick

* * *

 the group sat in front of sojiro’s house while ren was still in leblanc making a lock pick

they all stood there doing nothing while they waited

the silence grew until mishima broke it with a question

“so..is this what you guys normally do? or..”

”no we do other things but it looks like we’re stuck doing this, I’d say taking on some shadows is way more interesting even though I almost died a couple times”

“speaking of that I think I overheard ren talking about people being shadows, what are they?”

morgana jumped on his shoulder which made mishima lean a little down as he slowly adjusted to his weight

”think of them as someone true personality the side of them that you don’t want you to see”

”does everyone have one?”

”yep, but for us we don’t have one because we’ve defeated our shadows and gained personas”

”can anyone get one?”

”probably I don’t know all the basics”

”so how did it feel to have a persona? I asked ryuji once but all he told was it felt ‘seriously cool’ and that’s it”

”think of it as a big load coming off of your chest”

” **hehe nice** ”

shiho snickered at haru’s innocent comment while haru looked at her confused at why she was snickering

”it’s truly an eye opener to when you do awaken and realize all of your faults”

”is that how you awaken?”

”that’s how I awakened I’m not sure about the others but I think makoto had a similar awakening”

”in order to awaken your persona you must defeat the shadow inside of you”

”but to think the school prez was rebel like this after all the times she was the principal’s dog”

mishima laughed while makoto stepped over to him and punched him straight in the gut

”nghhh!”

”by the way what if he does catch us?”

haru went through her bag and pulled out a bag

”I can give him these cookies I baked before we met up, I was planning to have you all try some but this’ll work perfectly”

haru held the bag out in a playful manner

ann looked on in jealously as the cookies sat there in the bag just waiting to be consumed

”anyways besides that ren’s been checking to see if sojiro’s home for a while now”

”he’s probably making double sure”

”it’s been more than 10 minutes”

”then it’s double bubble sure”

”is that even a word ryuji?”

morgana critiqued ryuji’s odd word choice

”I dunno but it sounds right”

”nothing sounds right to you”

after a bit more standing around haru pressed the doorbell

no answer

she kept pressing it

”haru I don’t think anyone’s gonna answer”

”seems so, sadly I don’t think she may answer”

”well at least we’ll be fine if boss does catch us”

”I don’t, ryuji we may still get in trouble”

”we have to be optimistic about stuff you can never look at things in a negative way”

”oh I’m sorry was I bringing the mood down?”

”haru, don’t listen to ryuji”

morgana warned haru

after a bit more waiting ren arrived with lock pick in his hand

”what took you so long?”

morgana bounced onto the ground and looked straight up at him

”making a lock pick”

”did you not have extras?”

”I used them a while ago in mementos”

”what about boss? did he come back to the cafe?”

”he’s still didn’t show up so I’m guessing he’s inside

”ok lets leave the discussion later we must go save futaba!”

ann was up and ready to go but as she went to go push the gate open but it flew through with ease that she almost fell down

”huh? it’s unlocked”

”that’s not a good sign but let’s keep going”

then stepped though the gate

”sorry about this boss”

makoto muttered that as she was the last one to enter the gate she was also the one that closed it

”well then ren after you”

ann stepped out of the way for ren to open the door

”um guys..”

everyone looked to ren who turned his head to face the group

”the door is open..”

“it’s open..?”

they all looked at each other confused

”whaddya mean?”

”the door is already open...you don’t think something happened to boss I mean he could have passed out or something”

”only one way to find out”

whilst they were all speaking a bolt of lightning was heard striking nearby

”seems it’s gonna rain as well, we should hurry before we get caught”

they all went inside

the hallways wasn’t small but it was wide enough for them to step through

”hello...?”

haru was the first to step through

”excuse our entry..”

they all politely took off their shoes as they didn’t know if sojiro was home

after they all put their shoes on the carpet they stepped through

at the end of the hallway the door was slightly open and it showed a tv still turned on showing a program but at a very low volume

the light on the hallways were on still showing someone stepped through here recently

”seems a little too-“

before morgana could finish his sentence a struck of lightning could be heard and the lights turned off as a result

a scream could be heard echoing in the house as soon as the power cut off

ann gave out a small scream as scary things weren’t her cup of tea

”c-can we go I don’t think this is a good idea anymore”

”y-y-yeah this was a good idea on paper but in execution not so much”

both mishima and ann wanted out immediately as they couldn’t stand standing in the dark empty hallway

”come on we have to see where futaba is, we can’t stop now because you two are being scaredy cats”

”I’m not being a scaredy cat! it’s just this isn’t a good idea anymore”

“fine we can try this again another day”

then all turned back around to leave except makoto who stood dead in her tracks

ren was about to walk past her when she grabbed his shoulder

”I’m sorry about this but can I..hold your hand”

ren chuckled “scared?”

”no!...just being cautious”

“alright I’ll let you do this”

ren saw arsene gaze at the two and saw arsene was about to speak

” _no.._ ”

” **but I didn’t even say anything** ”

arsene looked unsatisfied

” _I don’t need to as I know exactly what you were about to say_ ”

” **you’re no fun..** ”

both ren and makoto walked through the hallway but every time a lightning bolt struck down she held onto ren’s arm even tighter than before

ren chuckled at makoto’s startled attitude but he soon turned into a face of ‘uh oh I’m screwed’ as soon as he looked up as ann had a huge pout of her face as she looked back

ren decided the best course of action was to stick his tongue out to tease ann even more

ann’s pout grew even more to ren’s joy as she did

” **you’re playing with fire ren** ”

” _don’t worry I’m not weak to fire_ ”

” **I’m not weak to fire, you are** ”

” _it’ll be fine_ ”

” **I’ll quote you when ann eventually punches you straight in the gut** ”

everyone made it to the entrance except for ren and makoto who took slow steps due to makoto becoming more nervous as each strike of lighting could be heard outside

a creaking of a door could be heard behind them

”w-who’s there?”

makoto turned around slowly

”sojiro...can you turn in the power..I can’t see..”

ren could feel someone poke his back and it wasn’t makoto

”huh?..”

”sojiro...?”

a bolt of lightning was struck nearby which gave enough light for both makoto and ren to get a glimpse at the girl that seemed to be heir answer for how to deal with Medjed

after the light went away both makoto and futaba stared at eachother like a deer in headlights before..

”AHHHHHH!!”

”AHHHHHHHHH!!!!”

both makoto and futaba screamed at eachother in complete fear

futaba immediately scrambled to a room and shut the door behind her loudly

makoto fell down to her knees grasping onto ren’s knees as tightly as she could not letting go in the slightest

”imsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorry pleasesavemesis pleasesaveme pleasesaveme”

makoto was losing her mind as she kept gripping in ren’s leg even tighter than before

” _she has a really tight grip_ ”

“ **It’s still in the air** ”

” _arsene I’m not doing it_ ”

”futaba! we want to talk to you!”

”guys come on, hurry up and let’s go-“

”FUTABA ARE YOU OK!?”

ryuji turned around to look at the door

”shit! he’s here”

everyone moved out of the hallway into a separate corner that wasn’t visible to those that entered through the front door

ren tried to move but makoto was still breaking down and ren wasn’t able to maneuver his way to where the group was hiding

ren had to stand there helplessly while sojiro opened the door

”YOU! STAY THERE RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE I SWEAR YOU ARE SO SCREWED ONCE I-“

sojiro grabbed for a nearby flashlight but he stopped his yelling as soon as he turned it on and turned it to face ren who had a soft smile on his face and was waving his hand

”hey boss..”

”you? what’re you doing here?”

he also looked at makoto who was desperately clinging to ren’s leg as if she’d die if she let go even for a second

“and you? why are you two here and together?”

”just together, you know”

ren could feel ann’s jealousy in in that corner as he teased her even more

sojiro then grew a huge grin “I didn’t think you were that kind of man but I have to say, nice” sojiro gave him a thumbs up

”glad you thought so”

makoto finally calmed down and faced sojiro once she got over the shock and fear of being scared half to death

”h-hello...s-sir...s-sorry for intruding into your house..”

”so mind explaining why you’re clinging onto the boy like your life depended on it?”

makoto stood back up but was flustered and embarrassed 

”oh uhh...we were just...uhh”

the rest of the group had to step in order to help makoto which surprised sojiro as it seemed he had a small party in his house

”you kids are here too?”

”we wanted to drop you these cookies I made as I accidentally made extra!”

haru was the first to nervously blurt out an excuse

”we saw the door opened and we wanted to make sure you were ok!”

ann followed up haru’s nervous explanation 

”yeah the gate and door were open and then the tv was on and we thought you passed out!”

shiho topped it off while sojiro stood there scratching his head

”the door was unlocked..maybe I am getting old”

”umm sorry to ask but..”

hm? what’s the question?”

makoto looked sojiro straight in the eyes ”there’s someone else living here too...isn’t there?”

”yeah..my daughter also lives here”

”so I’m guessing she’s futaba sakura”

sojiro has a look of betrayal as he looked at ren

”you told them too?”

”my bad it was huge topic and I had to let them know”

sojrio sighed

”sorry to be such a bother but could we apologize to her by any chance? I think we may have scared her a little bit”

makoto turned around to see a door slightly creek open as if someone was looking through the crack

”I think that might be an issue..”

”is she sick or..”

”no it’s not like that it’s a more..complicated issue than that, but I don’t want you to get the wrong idea so let’s go to the shop so we can properly discuss it there”

they all shuffled their way out of sojiro’s house and into leblanc

they all stood or sat around sojiro as he took a deep breath before starting his story

”where to start, where to start”

”let’s start at the beginning with her mother”

”her mother and I knew eachother for a long time before futaba came into existence, she was always a carefree person but she had an odd charm to her as if she could never be a bore, a real great person to have around I’ll tell ya”

”but even after futaba was born she still kept that attitude of her’s, and having a child and working didn’t slow her down one bit even if she had to take care of her by herself”

”wait was there not a father?”

”no there was but she never mentioned it to me, even so she still did both being a single parent and her job quite well even if it did put a toll on her. and judging by the fact the kid told you, you know that she committed suicide”

the group nodded except ren who felt guilty

something he never did was tell the full story about what happened to her mom

all ren said was that sojiro is keeping futaba and that her mother passed away

not the fact that her mother was taken out by someone

he felt guilty for that but he couldn’t exactly tell them about it so he decided to stay quiet

“she killed herself right in front of futaba’s eyes...she got hit by a truck and died from those injuries, ever since then futaba has been bouncing around from house to house until I finally got custody of her”

”that’s a lot for someone to handle”

”she was too depressed to talk to me but I could understand that losing a parent right i front of your eyes must be hard on someone but I kept talking to her and she slowly opened herself up to me but there’s still one thing that stings me to this day”

”what’s that?”

”futaba blames herself for what happened to her mother, I don’t know why but I don’t want to ask I don’t want to try to make things worse and force an answer out of her”

”that’s so sad”

”but now it seems to have gotten worse...she gets nightmares for no real reason saying things like ‘mom hates me’ and ‘it’s all my fault’ it’s really concerning”

”have you tried to go to a doctor to see what’s causing these hallucinations?”

”tried that, all she did was lock herself in her room and refuse to be seen. she’s become a total shut-in refusing to see or talk to anyone she doesn’t know or trust”

”harsh..”

”but I try to keep her happy as much as I can, it may be a bad move as a parent but I make sure she gets all she can and doesn’t do anything she’s unwilling off, I know it’s a bad move but there’s not a lot I can do about it. if only there was a way for her to live like a normal person and not a shut in”

“that’s really rough”

”yeah...I hope you understand why I didn’t tell you it before so from now on, try to leave her be and try not to bother her”

”we will try not to from now on”

”good, we’ll then I’ll be on my way, you kids should as well”

sojiro left the cafe and the group sat there not knowing what they should do next

”I feel awful for intruding on that”

”yeah, it’s really shitty with what happened with futaba”

”is this really the path we should be going on”

“I don’t think we really should try to I mean we knows she’s suffering but should we really try to keep pestering?”

”I understand it but I don’t know if we can do it”

while everyone sat there having doubts on the situation ren’s fist tightened with anger as they rest of the group was unsure of what to do

ren slammed his fist on the table as loud as he could

”and you guys call yourself a phantom thief”

”hmm?”

the group looked at ren who stood up from his stool gritting his teeth and had a pissed off scowl on his face as he put his hand to his chest

”futaba enlisted our help for this, the fact that she’s suffering and decides the best course of action is to entrust us with her safety is proof that she believes in our abilities to save her from her nightmares and to save her from whatever is haunting her heart, it’s our job and heroes of justice to save her and it’s our job to make sure she turns out fine if she put this much trust with us. the fact that you guys are having doubts on what to do is a sign that we need to do this even more than ever even if it means to defy the rules of society as long as the phantom thieves exist we will protect ensure the safety of other and make sure the side of justice prevails more than anything!”

the group stood a bit back from ren’s speech as they had to take it in word for word

yusuke was the first to stand up and agree with ren

”you’re right we shouldn’t be teetering with this it should be obvious that saving futaba should be our priorities regardless of what boss said”

”sorry for having doubts but maybe we should do this, as phantom thieves”

”even though I don’t have a persona, nor understand any of these concepts I fully trust you guys and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to help her out”

the boys had all agreed with ren

”what a wonderful speech ren, but I guess this really is our job”

”look at the frizzy haired jerk taking the spotlight, but we are on the side of justice so we have no choice”

“no matter how I see it this is our duty and the most logical step to take out Medjed and save futaba from herself”

”that’s our ren for you, being a leader through and through”

everyone else had also agreed with ren

”so then I guess it’s a no brained that we’re going to take on futaba’s palace first thing tomorrow after school?”

”yeah!”

they all simultaneously agreed with ren

seemed ren’s speech gave everyone a higher morale to keep striving and to save futaba

after a bit more planning everyone else left the shop leaving ren by himself

” **that was a very powerful speech ren, I’m impressed you’ve learned a lot from that politician** ”

ren had some experience in telling speeches form mr Yoshida a small politician who regularly gave out speeches in Shibuya

” _thanks but I only said what was right_ ”

” **and you did good, now let’s go to sleep and get ready for tomorrow it’s time we start saving the hacker** ”

ren headed upstairs to get ready for bed

* * *

 “ _as long as the phantom thieves exist we will protect ensure the safety of other and make sure the side of justice prevails more than anything!_ ”

futaba was listening to ren’s speech on her computer while tears were streaming down her face as she listened to it

”please...I need you now more than ever”

”a pretty powerful speech indeed”

futaba looked over to see what was meowing to find a black cat with a yellow collar scurry across her floor and out of her room

”stupid cat!”


	62. Entering the tomb

it was morning time and ren just got out of bed

he yawned loudly

”wakey wakey we got school to go to”

ren put his glasses on and saw it was morgana at the edge of his bed

”morgana? where were you yesterday?”

”wait did you not see me go into futaba’s room?”

”no..?”

”wait you didn’t even know I was gone???”

morgana was extremely offended as if ren didn’t care about morgana’s well being

”well i didn’t exactly know about it”

”regardless of that I really liked the speech you gave to the group yesterday”

”you heard?”

”actually futaba is able to hear every conversation we have on her computers, seems she is able to tap into leblanc”

”she’s not a hacker for nothing it looks like, but we’re you able to get any more info”

”futaba wants her heart change indefinitely”

”so then it seems we have no choice but to deliver”

”we’ll then I have to say again but nice work as always”

ren chuckled and he pushed his glasses to his forehead “this isn’t my first rodeo”

”speaking about that what were you like going solo, you already know what happened when I tried it”

”yeah you got put into a jail cell and I had to bail you out”

”I know that already but what about you? how was going solo like”

”to be honest is was cool and all just running through a vast palace with enough space to jump across and over shadows, kinda made me feel free for once”

”sounds like a nice feeling to have and experience”

”it was...although I don’t regret joining you and haru kinda felt great to have someone watching my back and someone to talk to for once”

”did you not have anyone that went with you in the metaverse?”

ren took a second before responding

”no...I was always solo”

ren had that guilty feeling again as he straight up lied to morgana about being solo before he met the group

”well I just wanna say I’m glad to have you with me it’s nice to have someone like you”

ren looked at morgana who had his face a little bent forward

he smirked then proceeded to pat him in the head

”for someone who’s usually cocky and a bit annoying you really are a good person”

”I’m not annoying!!”

ren laughed “I guess you’re not but let’s go we have school to go to”

morgana headed into ren’s bag while ren finished changing into his uniform

* * *

On the walk to school he saw ann like always waiting for him

he smiled as he knew what about about to come to him

ren walked up to ann

”hey ann how are yo-“

as soon as ren walked up to her she grabbed his cheeks and starting to pull on them

”uhh ann that kinda hurts”

”it’s suppose to”

 “whyy?”

“because of what you did yesterday” ann started to pout at ren “and as punishment for doing that I’m gonna keep pulling your cheeks”

she started to pull even tighter now

”is it because makoto clinged on to me?”

”of course it’s because of that, I’m the only one who can cling onto you yet you allowed makoto to do that”

”because she was too scared to move so I had to-OW OW OW”

ann started to pinch ren which caused ren a great deal of pain

”no exceptions I’m the only one that can hold your hand”

”fine just let me go please? it’s starting to hurt really bad”

“ok~”

ann let go of ren’s face but she took off his glasses and starting to walk around with them on

”huh I didn’t know you were this blind”

”ann can I have those back”

ann giggled as she had ren’s glasses on her face

”nope~”

”ann please I can’t see”

ann started to skip a bit further away from ren

”you’ll have to come get them yourself~”

”but ann I actually can’t see”

ren’s vision was really bad and anything that wasn’t super up close to his face was basically a blur to him

ren tried to walk forward to catch up to ren who he could only define because of her bright blonde hair that guided him to her like a lighthouse guiding a ship

ann was busy looking at places with and without ren’s glasses as it made her curious to how blind ren was

”jeez ren I never knew you were so blind it must be a bad thing if someone broke your glasses and left you without-“

WHAM!!

”-them..”

ann turned around to see ren on the ground as he collided with a light post head on leaving him in the ground holding his head as he couldn’t see what was in front of him

” **does this count as being punched in the gut?** ”

” _no it does not_ ”

” **you should’ve used your third eye** ”

” _it helps me see without my glasses but it’s not like I can’t rely on it fully unless I want to drain myself trying to use i_ t”

” **so that’s how that works, I thought you had a third eye that could detect treasure in high definition** ”

” _it’s not a telescope arsene_ ”

ren was rubbing his face as ann walked up to him and put his glasses back on his face

”I’m sorry I didn’t think you hit anything”

ren still rubbed his face under his glasses as he stood back

“it hurts really bad I think I need a kiss from a beautiful princess for it to properly heal”

ren gave ann a smile as he waited for her to give him a kiss on the cheek he smacked the light post with

ann sighed but pull ren’s head a bit forward just so she could give ren a kiss on the cheek

”there did that heal you?”

”I think it did more than some healing”

ren pulled ann closer by hugging her waist and giving her the same reassuring calm smile he usually does

ann slightly blushed but retaliated by putting her arms around his neck

”you’re a jerk you know that..making me jealous like that..”

ren chuckled “then it means you should expect more coming from me”

”idiot..”

they leaned into eachother as they were about to give eachother a kiss

”ahem we have school to go to”

they both immediately let go of eachother as ren forgot morgana was in his bag

they both were a bit embarrassed that they were stopped by a cat

morgana sighed “let’s just go before you guys are late”

”r-right”

they both embarrassingly walked to school together

they walked into school and saw ryuji, shiho and mishima standing near the entrance of the school

”what’re you guys doing here?”

”there’s a stupid assembly that’s about go on and I don’t want to go”

shiho slapped ryuji on the back of the head

”we have to if we want to lay low you idiot”

”I know that! but it’s so stupid how we have an assembly in the summer”

”why do we have an assembly?”

ren didn’t hear of an assembly that was set up for today

”yeah, it’s all about how we need to be safer online or some other bullshit like that”

”sounds like one big coverup for all of the events that have happened one by one”

”exactly it’s so stupid”

the bell started to ring

”well you two boys can talk about it later let’s just go to the assembly”

”hey ryuji can you take the morgana, I need to use the restroom”

”sure just put him in here”

ren quickly stuffed morgana into ryuji’s bag

”alright just go on ahead without me

everyone except ren tried going inside

mishima tried going inside but ren stopped him

”ren what are you doing”

”skipping the assembly”

ren starting to drag mishima out of the school

”huh!? but won’t we get in trouble?”

”don’t worry I’ve already got that covered”

”what does that suppose to mean!?”

”just trust me”

ren dragged mishima to the back alleyway and opened his phone and went straight into the metaverse with mishima

ren didn’t really cate about the assembly too much as he had ms kawakami to help him deal with it 

at the expense of 5,000 yen and a bit extra as a generous tip

* * *

_**shujin** _

“in other news student should be more careful as more and more attacks are happening all around us and..“

”dude this is soo boring”

”tell me about it”

ryuji was bored out of his mind as the principal was giving out a speech about how everyone should be more safer online after what happened in the school

”also why are you with me?”

”because ren had to go to the bathroom”

”great now I gotta he stuck with you”

”then why don’t you go and leave them if you don’t wanna be in my bag”

”because I can’t as everyone will notice us!”

”no shit”

ryuji and morgana were having a whispering argument to themselves as the principal kept talking about the state of the school

ann and shiho stood together bored out of their mind

”hey shiho where did mishima go?”

shiho shrugged “I don’t know he’s probably somewhere in the back”

”yeah and what about ren? he’s taking an awful long time in the bathroom”

”who knows where he could be”

”you’re right it’s hard to get a precise read in him sometimes”

* * *

_**Meanwhile** _

“NGHHHHHHHH!!!”

”come on you got this!”

in actuality ren took mishima along with him to the metaverse in order for mishima to awaken his persona

currently ren was trying to get mishima to release all of his pent up aggression out in order to take out his shadow from within and awaken

after a bit more screaming mishima fell down panting

seemed nothing was working so far

“how...do...you do this?”

“maybe you’re not putting enough heart into it..”

”how!? I’ve already told you about my bullies, how it seems like no body knows who I am anymore”

ren sighed “let’s try this tomorrow maybe then it’ll work”

ren turned back in order to leave when mishima held his arm out and started to yell

”WAIT I CAN DO IT!”

ren looked back at him

“we’ve already spent a long amount of time trying I think we’ve done enough”

”NO WE HAVEN’T I CAN STILL TRY!”

”mishima you should know they’re limits to how much you can do”

ren started to go back again

mishima stood back up in a fury

”YOU HAVE TO HELP ME WITTHOUT ILL BE A LOSER FOREVER!”

ren immediately turned back after hearing that sentence mishima just threw

he sighed as he pointed at mishima

”what you just said there proves you haven’t told me everything, you’re hiding something else aren’t you?”

“huh?”

ren walked up to mishima

”you’re not honest that’s why you haven’t yet”

”what do you mean? I’ve done all I can!”

”mishima tell me, why did you join us?”

“I wanted to help the people that saved me”

”you weren’t like this when we first started to talk, when the both of us and ryuji called in a maid or when we hung out again and I took you to the metaverse for the first time. you weren’t like this”

”...”

mishima stood there silent

”there is something within that you haven’t solved in yourself”

mishima looked down at the ground as he took in what ren meant

ren sighed again “let’s go the assembly is probably over by now”

ren went before mishima out of the metaverse

mishima still stood there taking in what ren said

* * *

NOW LEAVING

ren spawned back into the alleyway

” **so...you abandoning having him awaken?** ”

“ _nah, he has it in him but it’s up to him for his shadow to go away_ ”

” **you really think he’ll solve it on his own** ”

” _yeah he will...I know he will if he believes in us that much_ ”

ren leaned into the wall as he waited for mishima to exit the metaverse

after a few minutes mishima finally exited the metaverse

his head was slumped down and his hands were in his pocket

”took a while in there..you alright?”

”yeah...but ren I’m gonna pass on today...I think you know why”

ren smirked as he walked up to mishima and put his hand on his shoulder

“I understand we all go through something like this, just take your time and when you’re ready we’ll try again”

”thanks..”

“well what do you want to do for the time being?”

”let’s just go back to the assembly”

ren groaned “you go ahead I’m skipping”

”you’re starting to sound like ryuji”

”am I..?”

”well I’ll talk to you later I’m gonna go rethink some things..”

mishima walked off while ren stayed behind in the alleyway

seemed mishima’s comment hit ren while he was unguarded and for some reason it felt strange to him

it was a familiar feeling yet it felt completely different

” _what’s this feeling.._ ”

” **hmmm?** ”

” _I don’t know I feel...odd_ ”

” **maybe it’s the fact that you finally have people around you that keep you happy** ”

” _but my Kyoto friends always did but why does this feel so different_ ”

” **it’s because you’ve grown ren...you’ve finally been able to take things at ease without the stress of wondering what might happen for the future** ”

” _..?_ ”

” **think about it, after more than a year with akechi you are able to finally grow and change as a person instead of being taken down by akechi** ”

” _I..have?_ ”

 arsene groaned heavily as it seemed ren also inherited ann’s airheadedness “ **I don’t need to spell it out to you further just look around you, you’ve helped those around you change while being oblivious to your own change, you’re not with akechi anymore you’re your own person now unbound by the chains of others** ”

ren took a second to take in all that arsene said and once he did he gave a grin

” _seems I haven’t regretted anything then.._ ”

” **sounds like your cocky side is starting to speak instead of your rational side** ”

” _could be, but I think it’s just my determination to stop akechi_ ”

arsene started to laugh “ **that’s the spirit! no wonder why I was contracted to you** ”

” _glad you’re happy to be around me_ ” ren slammed his fists together “ _time to go kick some shadow butt_ ”

meek walked farther into the alleyway pulling out his phone in the process

arsene floated behind him as ren pulled out his phone to go to the metaverse

he then heard a strange voice calling to him

” _remember...your....mission...save....him_ ”

arsene immediately turned around to see who was calling to him

after seeing it was nothing he turned back around and continued following ren

“ **seems I’m getting voices in my head...wait is that even possible?** ”

” _arsene, we’re going_ ”

” **right behind ya** ”

* * *

_**Afterschool** _

“jeeeeez that assembly sucked”

ryuji was walking out of the school with morgana still in his bag

“at least we’ll be able to help out futaba!”

haru and makoto also joined the group so it was everyone except mishima and ren

as they started to walk to the gate they saw ren leaning against the gate with his glasses as he hand them in his hands as he was spinning them on his fingertips

he glanced towards the group and smirked

he stopped spinning his glasses and put them back on his face whilst using one hand

”show off..”

morgana scoffed at ren’s actions

”so we ready for this?”

”yeah we are..and where were you?”

”inside”

makoto crossed her arms

”according to the others you were in the bathroom”

ren chuckled “that’s still inside, anyways let’s go before we waste more time not saving futaba”

”lead the way ren!”

haru joyfully walked right next to ren as they marched to the station

makoto rubbed her brow as she started to reconsider her day

after a quick ride from the station to leblanc they went to the attic to have a quick discussion before they attempted anything

”so then as our advisor do we have any idea on how to get into futaba’s palace?”

no one spoke up

”do we even know if she has a palace?”

”don’t worry I checked as soon as I got the name”

”so then we have that but what about the other two parts?”

”all I got is futaba sakura and sojiro sakura’s house”

”alright that eliminates the who and where but now that leaves the what”

”I think we should try going into his house we’d most likely get more clues there”

”good idea haru, but what about boss?”

”he’s busy in the cafe we have a perfect shot in doing it here and now”

ren already had that part covered

”by the way where’s mishima?”

”he’s gonna stay out of this one for today”

”well that’s too bad, so are they’re any objections to the plan?”

everyone nodded no

”alright so then if there’s no objections let’s go”

they all headed downstairs walking past sojiro while he was making coffee

”hey kiddos where you heading off to?”

they all stopped dead in their tracks as they didn’t expect sojiro to notice them

”just to go out and study”

”huh...well alright then try not to have too much fun”

sojiro chuckled at his own comment while ren played along with him

”yeah we will try to be careful out here , anyways we’ll see you soon”

they left the shop and made their way to sojiro’s house

they stood in front of sojiro’s house as they were now trying to figure out the last keyword

”so if she’s  a shujin then she just think the house is a prison”

NO CANDIDATES

ryuji started off strong with prison and now it was everyone else’s turn to figure out what it could be

”how about an oasis?”

NO CANDIDATES

“A labyrinth with the exit not in sight”

NO CANDIDATES

”a dungeon..?”

NO CANDIDATES

seemed all of their guesses were not the right ones

ryuji groaned “why don’t we go inside and ask her ourselves”

”we can’t possibly do that! the door must be locked for sure”

”I can take care of that he usually leaves a window open for me to sneak in”

”wait sneak in? what do you mean morgana?”

”while you were holding ren I scoped most of the ground floor and futaba’s room, we should be good to go”

morgana already knew the 1st floor and was already ready to go sneak in and open the front door

“well then after you mona-chan!”

”wait shouldn’t we be more careful? if boss catches us we’re done for there’s no excuse in the world that’ll save us this time

”it’ll be fine makoto it’s a simple go in and go out mission”

”ryuji that is not how this works”

”listen we done things like this before it’ll be fine, if anything ren will get in trouble”

”ryuji how is that fine?”

”don’t worry about it, anyways mona go in and open the door”

”on it!”

morgana scurried to the side of the house while the group waited

”so, what do you think futaba’s palace could be like?”

“somewhere secluded that must be where it is”

”so what place is secluded”

”we will find out soon enough”

the door to sojiro’s house slowly started to open as morgana pushed it open

”come on follow me”

morgana scurried back inside while the group followed behind him

they entered in and stopped at a door where morgana sat down in front of

they looked at the door

”this is it?”

”yep, this is where her room is”

makoto stepped up and knocked on the door

”futaba! are you in there? I wanted to say I’m sorry for starling you”

no response

”seems she isn’t responding”

”why is that?”

”perhaps we should use her hacker name instead of her real name”

“ok I’ll try that...alibaba we’re here to talk to you”

a buzz cane from ren’s phone

he pulled out his phone and checked to see who it was

[Al: what do you want?]

seemed futaba was only responding to alibaba and she could only talk through messaging

on the other side of the door futaba had a blanket over her head and had one hand on her keyboard as she typed to ren

she was only keen on messaging ren as he was the most trustworthy person in her eyes

she seen how he deals with things as she has been spying on ren ever since he arrived at leblanc and it felt safe knowing he was the one she was talking to

”we want to know more about you so we wish to talk to futaba sakura and not alibaba so can you please part with us on that?”

although muffled through the door futaba heard makoto’s request

she put her hand on her keyboard to type once more

back on the other side of he door ren got another message

[Al: fine]

[Al: but I’m only willing to speak with ren]

”what an odd proposal”

yusuke was confused on why futaba was only keen on speaking with ren

”alright, ren I’ll leave the rest to you”

ren nodded as he stepped up to the door

”futaba I want to know something”

[Al: ask away]

”what do you think this house is?”

[Al: a house? why?]

”well then how do you feel about living here?”

[Al: like I’m dying in a slow painful death]

“why? don’t you wanna leave”

[Al: even if I try to leave this place I have to come back]

“why’s that?”

[Al: this place is my resting place]

[Al: my tomb where I’ll inevitably die]

”wait tomb?” ren went to enter the key word in the metanav 

CANDIDATE FOUND

”we got a hit!”

[Al: a hit?]

[Al: was that all you needed?]

”yep and now we can save you”

“nice! then let’s not waste time and let’s go”

ryuji nabbed ren’s phone and pressed the button to enter the palace

”WAIT RYUJI YOU IDIOT”

ren screamed at ryuji

the surrounding area started to distort around them

“huh? what’s wrong”

”ryuji you can’t go into the metaverse here this could have bad effects to where we spawn”

”how does that work?”

”RYUJI WE DON’T HAVE TIME TO ASK THAT NOW YOU IDI-“

the commotion disappeared as the group phased into futaba’s palace

the door to futaba’s room slightly creaked open

then it swing open as futaba looked outside in the hallway

“hello..?”

seemed the group disappeared to some other place

”where’d they go?”

futaba looked around but there wasn’t a single trace of them

“weird..”

she closed the door again and went back to her computer


	63. Pharaoh’s keep

the group reappeared into the metanav falling from the sky and landing on some sand

ryuji fell on his butt and got back up after wiping the sand off of him

”sand? where are we?”

ryuji was wiping the sand off of his shirt

yusuke also got up

”seems to me that we’re at a desert”

all around it seemed to only be sand

yusuke tried looking further away but he couldn’t see anything

the rest of the group stood up after getting the heads out of the sand

ren was getting the sand out of his clothes as he looked around at his surroundings

”it’s a desert alright, and we seem to nowhere near the actual palace”

the sun was blazing on them

”it’s very hot”

haru was already starting to sweat due tot he heat of the sun

”why are we in our clothes though? shouldn’t we be in uniform?”

shiho was wiping the sweat off of her neck

”futaba doesn’t see us as enemies that’s why we’re still in our clothes, and it seems she also doesn’t want anyone to know about this place”

”what do you mean?”

”seems we spawned all the way over here while our destination is about all the way over there”

ren pointed at a distant but shiny building all the way in the distance

it was so far away that they couldn’t make out what is was but they knew for sure it was a tomb

morgana shook all of the sand out of his fur

”ryuji that was completely reckless of you, you can’t just start up the nav like that”

”I’m sorry I just got so anxious that I jsut wanted to go”

”can we just go!? I’m starting to burn up over here”

”ann's right this place is scorching hot, mona can you turn into a car”

”good idea, I don’t want my paws getting burned”

morgana stepped forward and changed into a van 

“alright guys head in, I got the AC on and everything”

”perfect”

the group stepped in the van 

“alright is everyone ready?”

makoto was driving the van with ann in the passenger side ryuji, shiho and yusuke in the middle seats and haru and ren all the way in the back

“yep, now let’s go before we waste anymore time”

makoto stepped on the gas and they started to drive over to the shiny building in the distance

* * *

they’ve been driving for a few minutes now

they seemed to be a little more than halfway to the tomb but it was still going to be a long car drive there

and in the span of the 20 minutes they’ve spent driving the group was pouring sweat even with AC on the group was still sweating

it didn’t help that the AC wasn’t the best way for them to beat the heat so the van was stuffy all the way there

during the ride they had burned through their water 

and now they were just suffering in the van that felt like being in a toaster than a car

ann and makoto laid on the dashboard while everyone else in the car laid back in their seats

”ren...do you have any water?”

haru had her sweater off her and she was just suffering with her normal shirt in

ren had his glasses off as they were now just a bother for him to wear

”I have some, here”

ren threw a water bottle and haru who didn’t bother to catch it but just let it his her chest and fall into her lap

”thank you...”

haru slowly reached for the water and opened it slowly

she looked to her left and saw the three in the middle eye her down

”haru...” shiho said in an intimidating voice

haru pointed to ren as to get the gaze of the others off of her

the three switched their target and started to glare at ren

“i have three bottles since I couldn’t prepare because someone decided to was the best to immediately go in the metaverse”

”if I knew we’d be going into a desert I wouldn’t have done it”

”which is why we need to be more careful about this stuff”

”alright fine but can I have some water?”

“I don’t know do you deserve any?”

“come on don’t be like this man, I’m dying of thirst over here”

”well one of these bottles is for me...so I’ll just”

ren opened the bottle and started to drink it in front of the three who eyed him down in envy as they saw that cold water slowly drain out of the fresh bottle

ren had an over dramatic sigh of relief as the he looked at the three

”rennnnn...please..”

shiho was begging for a fresh cold bottle

”yusuke want one?”

”if you can spare I’ll gladly take”

”here!”

ren tossed the bottle to yusuke to his delight while both ryuji and shiho glared at him

”thank you”

yusuke sat back down in his seat while he drank the bottle

there was one bottle left

and either ryuji or shiho would be the one to get it

and like two wild animals fighting over a prey both shiho and ryuji starting to tear into eachother for the last water bottle

”hey ren why don’t you give it to me i haven’t done anything to you..”

shiho made the first move in order to get the bottle

”hmmmm...”

ren was thinking about what shiho has done to him

”you’ve done a lot of things to me”

”ok fine I have, but ryuji has done worse”

“huh?! you are the one always shooting ren in the metaverse!”

”and you’re the one always rushing things too quickly and having one of us save your ass!”

“at least I don’t alert the enemies as much”

”that’s because you’re already fighting the damn shadow and nearly getting slammed in the process!”

“that’s because you are being lectured on how to not shoot ren!”

the two were bickering over who would be getting the last water bottle unattended

usually ren, haru or makoto would be the one to break up the fights in the group but haru was trying to fan herself and she couldn’t break the two up, makoto was sweating in the front seat and couldn’t be bothered to break the two up and ren was bored and didn’t want to break up the fight

”rennnnn.....”

ann was trying to signal ren

”yeah..?”

”I ran out of my water can I have that last bottle”

”sure”

ren leaned forward and tossed the bottle to the front of the van

ann caught the bottle and immediately opened the bottle and starting drinking

”hey ann, can I have some of that?”

”yeah sure just don’t drink all of it”

ann handed the bottle of water to makoto and she started to drink some of it as well

while the interaction was happening shiho and ryuji watched in horror as they saw the last water bottle get tossed around like that

after seeing the bottle go away and their chances at refreshment disappear they sat back in their seat frustrated and angry

they looked away from eachother with their arms crossed and an angry face on them

”this day sucks”

”yeah no water, we’re stuck in a desert and it’s hot”

”well at least there’s one thing that’s good today”

”what’s that?-“

shiho looked back at ryuji to see he was staring at her chest

shiho didn’t realize that all of her sweat seemed to make her white polo see through and ryuji had a good chance to see shiho’s lavender bra

”CREEP!”

shiho immediately threw a punch straight at ryuji face while her other hand was covering her soaked shirt that exposed her bra

“bastard! you knew my shirt was soaked and you didn’t let me know!”

“worth it....”

the other girls paid attention to this and checked their shirt to see they were also exposed

yusuke logically looked outside the window after seeing shiho knock ryuji nearly out of the van

ren didn’t really care as he was suffering all the way in the back which meant haru didn’t really have to watch out for his eyes to glare at her shirt

some more driving as they could see with their eyes the broken town in front of them

“woah that’s some town she has”

”hmm..?”

ren’s eyes slowly opened and he stared out to the front to see the shining town that they were heading to

”woah! look at that!”

the rest of the group looked at the big town that had a giant pyramid in the middle

”so her palace is a pyramid?”

”a tomb, like a pharaoh’s tomb where the dead are stored”

”puts some more reasoning why she called it her resting place”

”yeah, a tomb is where someone is buried and put to rest..seems that’s how she pictures her heart”

”well then makoto let’s keep going and see how this place works”

they entered the empty broken down town

the buildings that were there were just cracked shattered homes and buildings some of them had no walls or had just caved in entirely

it was a ghost town with utter silence filling the air

the van drove slow as everyone gazed upon the broken homes

”is this how futaba views the world around her?”

yusuke was curious as he looked at the bricks fall off one by one on the houses

”its sad to know she views the world like this, an empty town where she lays until her death”

haru looked at the houses as they passed by saddened to know this is what was in futaba’s heart

“even more of a reason to save her now let’s step on it to that pyramid”

ren was very eager to enter the pyramid as he felt it necessary to save futaba

the eventually made it to the front of the huge pyramid

after the group exited the van morgana reverted back to his cat form

”so this is her palace”

morgana eyes down the stairs leading up to the pyramid

”it’s very well detailed the color really reflects well with the rest of his outer look”

yusuke looked over and examined the cracked pillars

”I don’t think we should be complimented this”

”yeah, this is futaba’s heart yusuke this ain’t something we can compliment”

makoto and ann tried to get yusuke to stop eyeing down the pillars

”but this is a great representation of how she sees the world, a cracked outer shell with nothing desirable in the middle, maybe that’s how she views the house the pyramids also show the same cracked patterns”

yusuke pointed to the slight cracks in the pyramid

the group was impressed but also a bit confused as they saw yusuke continue to scan the architecture

“alright then let’s go up and check it out”

ren took the first steps

”please! I can’t stand this damn heat anymore because I’m about to melt into a ryujisicle”

the group took their steps up as they made it to the grand doors that lead straight inside

” **this is very grand of her** ”

” _it’s sad to see_ ”

” **it’s something we all have ren** ”

ren took a deep breath before he opened the door

the group entered and was hit with bliss as the interior was cold and fresh as if there was an ac pumping in 24/7

”it’s soooo cool on here”

haru enjoyed the cool air very much

”yeah way better than mona’s weak air”

”hey shut up I was trying!”

”not hard enough”

”say one more thing and I’ll claw you!”

”I’d like to see you try”

”can we not bicker you two!? we have a mission here”

ann broke the two up as she was fed up with hearing them bicker over and over again with eachother

”anyways this is a pretty huge hallway”

ren saw how high up the ceiling was

”you’re right about that but there must be something up at the top right?”

shiho pointed at the top of the staircase

”well then let’s go”

”wait! over that large pit?”

”yeah..? how else are we supposed to get over?”

”but we’re not in our outfits isn’t this harder?”

”yeah, if you’re not careful”

ren walked over and jumped on the first platform with ease

he then then other the other platforms and made it to the other side

”see! not that hard”

”showoff...”

shiho followed ren’s steps but almost slipped off on the last jump

”gotcha!”

ren grabbed onto shiho’s arm right before she fell off

he pulled her up as soon as he had hold of her arm

”thanks for that ren”

ren looked at the group on the other side who seemed a bit spooked to see shiho nearly fall off

”it’s safe guys don’t worry I’ll get you if you fall”

the others slowly but made it across the pit luckily without needing ren to save them if they fell off

after they all made it to the other side they started to climb upwards

“hey ren have you ever been without your outift for this long?”

”no, it’s kinda strange though seems she doesn’t view us as enemies even though we entered her palace”

”so you have been through palaces where you started off with your clothing?”

”yeah, at the start until I entered the place”

”so this is a new experience for all of us”

”let’s hope futaba’s shadow can show us where the treasure is, so we can steal it”

the group continued their walk upwards through the quiet stairwell

they went up higher to where they could see someone

”is that....”

”futaba?”

they went up quicker as they saw the small orange haired girl in pharaoh’s clothing 

her eyes were dead and it looked like she hadn’t moved

“wait is this futaba?” ryuji walked up to to her “hey can you show us the treasure?”

”ryuji don’t be so rude” ann walked up to her blocking ryuji “sorry about him futaba, but can you show us where the treasure is?”

” **...** ”

she was silent, her eyes were still and not moving at all to look at the group

”let me try” ren walked up to her and got to eye level with her

futaba stared up at him for the first time

“hey futaba can you show us where the treasure is? we want to help you”

“help me? impossible there’s no way you can get the treasure”

”what do you mean?”

”this place is my resting place and there’s nothing you or I can do about it”

”then I guess I’ll find a way”

”fool, you don’t understand how impossible that is, I can’t escape this place no matter what”

”what do you mean you can’t escape from this place?”

the palace started to lightly shake which alerted everyone

” _murderer_ ”

” _it’s your fault_ ”

” _how could you!?_ ”

” _are you going to speak or just stand there?_ ”

futaba crouched over while holding her head down

”what’s happening?” haru said as she looked up to where the voices were coming in horror to what was being said

in the real world futaba was going through one of her mental breakdowns where the voices started to speak to her about her mom’s death

”it’s all my fault...I don’t deserve to live, this place is my tomb and where I’ll inevitably die”

the ground started to shake aggressively as a result of the voices attacking futaba

”I killed my mother”

”huh!?”

”my mother exists here, and I don’t have the right to leave”

futaba starts to vanish into the air

sime more rumbling was heard

“what now!?”

the group’s outfit immediately appeared on the group

”our clothing is back? does she view us as enemies?”

”I think she does”

the rumbling stopped for a moment

”what was that shaking?”

before haru’s question could be answered a giant boulder appeared from above and slammed on the ground in front of the group

”oh shit! run!!”

the group instinctively ran away to avoid being squashed under the boulder

”quick! everyone dodge to the sides and the end of the staircase!”

ren gave out an order and everyone followed it dodging to the sides as the boulder moved past them crashing into the pit during into smaller rocks and dust

one the boulder fell the door leading up closed shut showing no sins of opening

after the dust settled the group went to go look at the new changes to the palace

”so there’s a door keeping us out”

“I think we should retreat it’s not like there’s anything else we could do at the moment”

“good idea queen, we’ve already secured or means of entering the palace so we should be good to go for tomorrow and maybe this tile o can prepare”

”I’m sorry about that man if I knew we’d be going through hell I’d let you”

”let’s forget that for now and let’s just dip”

the group left the palace and went back to the real world

* * *

they reappeared back in the real world spawning outside of sojiro’s house instead of inside

“so we made it out and it put us outside his house”

”i think that’s a good thing I didn’t want boss to see us in his house again”

”yeah and clinging on to ren’s leg”

shiho wanted to get a ride out of makoto

”that was an honest mistake shiho!”

”i don’t know it looked like you enjoyed it”

”I did not!”

shiho snickered until ann started to pull on her cheeks

”anyways I think we should meet at the cafe from now on, it’s a hassle going from here to Shibuya and then back to let’s just make ren’s attic the meeting spot from now on”

”great idea ryuji and while we’re at it we need to figure out how to get past that door”

”let’s save the talk for tomorrow and get some rest from that awful trip going through a desert”

”I guess so, but let’s continue smashing straight afterschool”

”roger”

the group split up after setting a meeting time for when they would go to the palace

* * *

ren was in his attic after a bit more talking with the group

its been a while since they went their separate ways

enough time passed where the day was almost over

ren had nothing else to do except for taking to ann or his friends in their group chat

ren got another notification from his phone

he thought it was ann as they were in the middle of a talk with eachother but it seemed alibaba was the one to send the message

[Al: so are you doing it?]

”yeah but give us some time, we have a lot to work with”

[Al: how long?]

”maybe 2-3 weeks? at least before Medjed attacks us that’s for sure”

[Al: alright but if you can, can you please make it quick]

”I understand but I need you to bear with us, even though it hurts to wait”

[Al: ok]

[Al: but promise me you’ll steal my heart will you?]

ren chuckled “of course you can count on us, seeing as you’ve spent so long helping us..I can’t just turn that away”

[Al: so you really are the selfless person you’ve made yourself out to be]

”thanks...”

[Al: so then I guess we’ve come to a proper deal]

”yep, we steal your heart and you take out Medjed but there’s one thing I’d like to ask”

[Al: what’s that?]

”how come you’re messaging me?”

[Al: I don’t know]

[Al: you seem to be the most dependable]

[Al: anyways im signing off]

”night I guess”

ren didn’t receive anymore messages

he laid the phone on his chest and he stared at the ceiling

”something is still off about this whole thing”

”what would that be?”

”I don’t know, but something is off and I don’t like it”

”well we’ll deal with that when the time comes so I guess it good night”

”well then sweet dreams cat”

”right..anyways let’s hit the hay”

ren put his phone and glasses away and headed to bed

morgana got comfy as he stretched himself into a comfortable position

ren slept away with morgana at the edge of his bed

arsene was oddly quiet as he floated a bit away from the two stuck in his own thoughts

he looked at ren specifically

the same sight he always saw was still there

arsene could feel something dark within ren but couldn’t make out what

” _save...him.._ ”

arsene looked back around as the voice came back once more

” **why is it here again?** ”

arsene still saw no disturbance

” **odd...guess i should keep an open mind about it** ”

arsene left the voice alone as he didn’t know what it meant but he didn’t see it urgent to figure out what it was

after all he had more important things to deal with such as making sure ren didn’t overwork himself on purpose

but now it was silent and calm as always

arsene also rested as he waited for tomorrow


	64. Tomb exploration

_**Ren’s attic** _

the group sat at a the table that ren set up as they were waiting for makoto to finish her student council duties

”so..do we have a plan to deal with that door?” shiho was checking her phone as they waited

”I don’t know there must be something to do about it” morgana looked at ren to see what his judgement on it was

“let’s just go in and see if there’s anything to do about it” ren had been in many palaces and fought many owners those who were bad and good but he hadn’t been in a palace where the owner was a person who tried to escape the outside world

”what about mako-chan?”

the group was still waiting for makoto’s arrival when they got hit a text from the group chat 

[M: sorry I won’t be able to come, just go without me I have some business to attend to]

“business? what does she mean by that?”

”well it doesn’t matter she’ll tell us when she can but right now let’s go into futaba’s palace”

the group got up and made their way out of the attic to sojiro’s house

* * *

_**principal’s office** _

makoto closed her phone as she sighed

”well there goes that”

she put her phone away into her pocket

”so any reason you wish to speak with me? detective amamiya?”

makoto was in kobayakawa’s office and along there was detective amamiya sitting in front of his desk giving the same smile he always gave

the reason she stayed behind was because kobayakawa had called her to come but she didn’t expect any of this

“any ways niijima-san may you please sit down this detective is here to take some reports about the school”

”nice to meet you I’m Kazuma Amamiya”

he stood up and held his hand out to shake with makoto’s

makoto hesitatingly shook it but shook his hand regardless

”glad to meet I’m Makoto Niijima”

”pleasure to meet you niijima-san”

after they shook hands they both sat down in front of kobayakawa’s desk

”so anyways what’s the reason I was called here?”

”well our investigator here wants a report on the phantom thief case that we have in this school”

“didn’t you ask for that to be under wraps?”

makoto was confused as the principal also wanted the school’s affairs to be private and away from the public’s eye

”well yes but there has been a detective that was sent by the police to investigate the whole case”

this was a half assed lie as kobayakawa needed it to look good on paper and for the school's reputation to go up

”well then i have other businesses to attend to so I’ll leave you two to it”

kobayakawa stood up and walked off out of the office leaving the two alone in the office

”so, now that’s he’s gone shall we cut straight to the point”

”please, this is a bit unnecessary on my part”

”I see you’re still as diligent as ever in your studies makoto”

”I appreciate the compliment amamiya-san”

”well it’s good to see you haven’t changed all that much since we last talked”

”it’s only been more than half a year since we last talked”

makoto referenced the months after her dad’s death where kazuma came in once a month to check in on makoto and sae until sae yelled at him to never come back over an argument makoto didn’t know about

”well I wanted to make sure you weren’t badly affected by what happened”

”I thank you for the consideration and the thought”

makoto was grateful that the detective was so concerned for their lives even though he lived in Kyoto and not Tokyo

”so before I get into what I wanted to talk about I have a question to ask you as it’s very important”

”what’s that?”

”do you happen to know about how my son ren is doing?”

makoto sighed ”so we really are getting straight to the point huh..”

makoto was already familiar with how antsy the detective would get at certain topics as she’s seen how him and her father would be when they talked

”so...do you happen to know about how he’s-?”

”he’s doing just fine”

”you sure?”

”yes I am sure he’s not getting into any trouble and he’s made many friends with some of the students here at shujin”

”we’ll that’s a relief he as a lot of friends here, so now that that’s out of the way let’s get straight to the point of why I came here”

”which is..?”

”I want to know about the kamoshida case, I wasn’t necessarily interested with this case as although it did happen to the school where my son was attending but I never was called for it and neither did I feel it fit to come”

”and..?”

”and I came here once the kaneshiro case came up and so I’ve showed up and I want to know some things about what happened”

”a late start don’t you think?”

“better late than never”

”so are you still going for that phantom thief case?”

”of course I feel if I found out who’s causing them I’ll be one step closer to finding out who killed your father”

”so you are also trying to find out about it” makoto felt disheartened to know about this

kazuma simply smirked as he petted her hair reminding her of the same comfort he tried giving her on the day her dad died

”it’ll be fine I’ve already went through the wringer once with my son and if I did it twice I really would disappoint him this time”

”this time..?”

”it’s a long story that would take a bit to explain but that’s for another day, for now I want you to tell me about what happened with kamoshida”

”alright I’ll tell you but it’ll be a long story”

”it’s fine that’s what I came here for anyways”

”alright then prepare yourself”

makoto then went into full detail about what happened with kamoshida in full detail since the beginning except she purposely left the parts about ren in there always saying he never interacted with kamoshida at all even though that was a full blown lie

* * *

_**meanwhile in the metaverse** _

the group were trying to find ways to open the door

they tried to look around but it seemed nothing worked

”let’s just retreat again it may be a cognitive thing on why we can’t go through the door”

”what’s that suppose to mean?”

”it means that futaba sees something and thinks of it as something important to her like how treasures work”

”alright that makes sense so that means we have to find out what’s bugging her”

”right, so for now let’s just go back”

the group made their way back to the entrance but just as they were about to leave

”are you leaving so soon..?”

the group turned around to see futaba’s shadow below them in a new part of the palace that didn’t exist before

”come i wanna speak with you”

they went back down and went to the new entrance that showed up

”so are you gonna speak with us or are you gonna drop another boulder on us?”

futaba didn’t bat an eye to ryuji as she kept her eyes locked onto ren

”I want to make a deal”

”a deal?”

”you want to get past this door? no?”

”if you can help us that would be very appreciative”

”then you accept the deal?”

”of course”

ryuji stood there frustrated hat he was being ignored by futaba and how she nonchalantly spoke with ren

”so I need you to go to the village you entered into when you came to this tomb and I need you to retrieve something the bandit there stole from me”

”and then you’ll open the door?”

”that’s the deal is it not?, you retrieve what was stolen from me and I’ll open the door, fair?”

”hmm...alright we’ll do that”

”thank you..”

“alright guys let’s go”

the group made their way out of the pyramid into the burning hot sun

”why does she only talk to joker!?”

ryuji felt offended that futaba only spoke to ren and no one else

“because you’re too rude”

“hmph!”

ryuji scoffed at ann’s retort

”anyways we have to go to that town over there”

ren pointed at the town that was outside of the pyramid 

“good it’s close by and I don’t have to sweat in a catvan”

”I had the AC on”

”but it wasn’t enough”

morgana didn’t appreciate shiho’s ungratefulness as he walked forward muttering to himself and turning into a van

”get in”

they all got in the van and continued onwards

they entered the village but stopped when they saw they could continue anymore

they exited and looked around the place to see a dead dust filled environment

”this place is really dead”

”it may be symbolic for how futaba sees the outside world” yusuke examines all the shops that were empty and only filled with sand

”it’s very sad to see” haru looked at all the shops with disheartened eyes as she felt bad for how futaba looked at her surroundings

”alright let’s look for this bandit guy or whatever”

ren headed forward while the other trailed behind him

they eventually made it to an empty plaza after some scouting

”ahh, some new flesh has arrived in town”

the group turned around to see a shadow covered in tattered robes and cloth smiling at them

”who’re you?”

”I’m a fellow trader around these parts”

”trader..?”

”yes I inhabit the surrounding area and I-“

”ok quick the bullshit just give us that thing you stole otherwise we’ll clobber ya”

ryuji didn’t want anymore chitchat as he wanted to get this over and done with

”some very hostile people here going for a fellow trader like me..I see, very well you may have this back”

”finally someone who isn’t dumb and will give us an easy way to do this-“

”if you can catch me that is”

the bandit ran off away from the group right as ryuji was about to walk up to the guy and take what he stole

”dammit!”

”skull! you idiot you scared him off”

”me!?”

”why’re you so surprised you scared him off”

”because raven I’m tired of this bullshit I mean the fact we were a while mile away from the tomb, the boulder that nearly squashed us like bugs, the voices we keep hearin and that damn bandit”

”we’ll let’s leave that for now you two we have a bandit to chase”

ren took out his dagger as he started his chase against the bandit

”alright let’s follow joker’s lead”

the rest for he group followed after ren as they gave chase against the bandit

* * *

_**back in the real world** _

“and so the phantom thieves of heart sent the calling card and then he went on leave for a week until he confessed to all of his crimes and then he turned himself in”

makoto finished telling all the events that happened before kamoshida turned himself in 

“what a turn of events, it seems to me that his arrogance grew due to an achievement of some sort”

”..? what do you mean?”

makoto felt uneasy as it seemed kazuma was right on the money with his guess

”well I’ve been searching for the culprit of all these cases for years now I know a thing or two about how the targets of such events work and I know well as I’ve been one of them”

”wait..you were one of the heart thief’s victims?”

makoto didn’t expect this turn of events as it seemed ren had targeted his own father and out of curiosity she wanted to know more

”yeah..” kazuma scratched the back of his head “it was a shock he made me one of his targets but it seemed I was so open about my faults that it was even harder to pinpoint who it was that went for me but since then I’ve went about it more calmly”

”so why were you his target?”

”well you and your sister weren’t the only ones effected by the death of your father after all I knew the man well and maybe it struck me even harder than how I first thought”

”makes sense...but you had bad thoughts?”

”bad thoughts..?”

”oh!..uh I mean that all of the targets were those who had bad thoughts and they took it out onto others..yeah!”

makoto slipped up as she accidentally said more than she should’ve to the detective and she had to weasel her way out of it

”hmm..you know that does seem to be a common thing among all the targets”

and luckily for her the detective took the excuse without even questioning it

”so was that all you came here for?”

”no I am missing two more pieces of the puzzle that I need for now”

”which is..?”

”one the calling card meant for kamoshida and two a some more info if the culprit is a student at this school”

”a student..?”

makoto was playing dumb as she didn’t want to spill any more info than she already needed to

”we’ll yes it seems the heart thief has gone dark in Kyoto but I have a theory which is either the heart thief trained the phantom thieves and now they’re doing his work for them or..”

”or..?”

”the heart thief is working with a student to commit these acts”

”some bold claims there..”

”but it does hold some weight as eye witnesses have shown an adolescent has been going around shibuya at night being a bit suspicious”

”around shibuya..?”

”it’s only eye witness reports but I believe that the culprit goes out at night to commit his acts”

makoto was completely lost by what the detective said but she played along with it in order to stray away from him getting closer to finding out the identities of the phantom thieves

”so then are you going to continue with your investigations?”

”of course but I was thinking you would like to meet my son after all he’s a soft kind person, I thought you’d like to meet your underclassmen”

”I-I would like to pass”

”aww come on I very much so insist we go, how about we do it this Sunday my treat”

”s-s-sure”

makoto have up as she knew how persistent he would get and there’s nothing that could beat that upbeat personality of his

”then it’s settled! well I’ll be on my way and if you can, may you please give me the calling card that was sent to kamoshida”

”sure..”

”thank you!”

kazuma left the room while makoto sunk into the chair in front of kobayakawa’s desk

”he’s such a handful and I should probably tell ren about this”

makoto pulled out her phone

”oh right he’s in the metaverse...guess I’ll join them in a bit”

makoto stood up and went to leave the room once she finished some other smaller businesses before trying to join the group In futaba’s palace

* * *

_**back in futaba’s palace** _

”RAVEN!”

”on it!”

shiho shot a bullet towards the bandit but he seemed to dodge her attack

she shot two more but the shadow dodged and then deflected the shot

”damn it!”

the group were still giving chase to the bandit as it seemed to be more of a handful then they had anticipated 

ren was pursuing the bandit on the rooftops as he seemed to climb up there to avoid the group down below while the group were trailing behind them

”eigaon!”

ren threw a curse spell at him 

“garudyne”

the bandit fired back by shooting a wind spell which collided with the curse spell

”take this!”

ren shot another curse spell but he purposely missed to shoot the building in front of him so that the bandit couldn’t jump over to the building in front of him

he saw as the building in front of him crumbled to the ground

” **nice thinking** ”

” _only happened because of our strength_ ”

” **now then try to corner him** ”

”fox! noir! panther!”

”right!” the three simultaneously said

the three jump forward as they awaited for ren to shoot another curse spell to the bandit

seeing he had no choice he jumped off the building straight into the the grasps of the three that waited for him to jump down

”hyah!!”

ann lashed her whip out which tied itself around the bandit so he couldn’t move anymore

”I’ll put you to the sword!”

ann pulled her whip back while yusuke pulled out his sword as he began to slash through the shadow

”noir!”

yusuke jumped back as haru jumped forward and pulled out her grenade launcher

”take this!”

haru shot her grenade launcher into the shadow as he was engulfed by the resulting explosion

the shadow still stood up as the attacks weren’t enough to bring it down just yet

”show’s over!”

ren jumped off the building with his dagger as he aimed it straight at the shadow

he slashed through the shadow stylishly as he landed

the shadow disintegrated as ren flipped his dagger back into its holster

”phew..”

ren turned around as he saw a papyrus appear out of the shadow

ren grabbed it and was about to look at what was inside

”hey no peeking at a girl’s secrets”

ann swiped the paper from ren

“alright then let’s just go back, we don’t have anything else to do here right”

”agreed, alright mona turn back into a van”

morgana sighed before he walked forward and shifted back into a van

they made it back to the entrance and entered in where hey saw makoto speaking with futaba

”hey queen!”

makoto turned around to face the group as they walked up to her and futaba

”where were you guys?”

”giving chase to some shadow in the town we passed through to get here”

”thanks for the insight skull now did you get what futaba lost?”

”it’s right here”

ann held out the papyrus and futaba looked at it and immediately responded

”keep it it’s yours”

”but didn’t you want us to retrieve it?”

”no I don’t, because its a map to the palace”

ann unraveled the paper and it revealed a map to the palace

“a map..? to where”

”you’ll find that one out right now”

a small quake was heard throughout the palace

”uhh where was that-AHHHHH”

the floor under them open up and futaba floated and disappeared from their sight

”DAMN BULLSHIT” ryuji screamed as he fell

luckily their landing was softened by the sand below them..that was slowly trying to take them down even further to somewhere they didn’t want to go

the group desperately tried to swim out of the hole

after a bit more struggling the group made it out of the hole 

”jeez...can she not try to screw us over at any damn point!?”

ryuji was sick of futaba’s palace and all the shit he had to deal with

”seems her need to push others away is really strong”

”let’s just get out of her and try to find out what’s happening”

the group tried to find a vantage point to escape the underground

” _hey arsene can you try to see if there’s an exit to this place?_ ”

” **on it** ”

arsene flew out and try to find an exit

”there’s a whole part downwards but I don’t see an exit maybe we have to go upwards”

haru looked above to see if there was anything significant

”joker is there anything we can use?”

yusuke looked to ren to see if he knew anything

ren looked around for any sight of arsene when he saw the giant winged gentleman thief waving his arms to signal ren

and when he did grab his attention he pointed to a hallway that lead out of the hole

ren smirked as he started to walk forward

”there’s some enemies above us so stay close and follow my orders”

the group nodded as they followed ren

they treaded forward colliding with shadows on the way whilst trying to conserve their energy and bickering with one another about who took down the shadow which both makoto and ren had to deal with while haru kept swinging her axe around to quell the bickering

they eventually made their way out of the hole and into the hallway near the exit

the only thing left in their path was one tough shadow and their ticket out of the underground

”alright I got this one”

”wait joker are you sure he seems pretty tough”

”it’s fine what the worst that could happen”

ren ignored ann’s warning as he boosted his speed, attack, and defense

”HIYAHH!”

once ren finished boosting his stats he charged the shadow head on

his dagger clashed with the shadow’s body over and over again as the shadow tried to fling several spells towards him but ren kept dodging skill fully

”now here’s the finishing blow!”

ren pulled out his pistol and charge the shadow for one last blow

the shadow blasted a beam towards ren as ren started blasting at him also firing curse spells

” **ren dodge!** ”

” _oh crap_ ”

ren got hit by the beam as he clashed his dagger with the shadow

a huge dust cloud was brought up as the result of it

”hey joker! are you alright?”

mona didn’t seem to see ren’s silhouette anywhere in the dust cloud

the dust eventually settled and instead of a disappearing shadow and ren was a small fat mouse with a mask on its head

the mouse seemed very confused as it spun around a few times and started to squeak a lot

”umm...where did joker go?”

ann tried to look around but didn’t see anything

she stepped forward and crouched down to see the small mouse who was frantically jumping up and down to grab her attention

”this mouse has a strange mask on its face”

the other also walked forward to see the mouse squeak over and over again louder than before whilst jumping in the air

”now that you mention it the mask does seem familiar”

yusuke picked the mouse up by its tail as he examined it further

the mouse was swinging around flailing it’s arms everywhere

”guys I think that may be joker”

everyone looked at haru a confused at why she would think of that

”noir that’s impossible ren can’t be a little rat isn’t that right little buddy”

ryuji poked at the mouse’s stomach while the mouse facepalmed

”wait fox put him down”

yusuke followed haru’s request and put the mouse on the ground

”ren if it’s you spin around two times and then jump”

the mouse followed her instructions as he spun around twice and then jumped into the air once

the other gasped as it seemed haru was right, their leader turned into a small chunky mouse

”so...why is ren a mouse?”

mouse ren shrugged his shoulders

”seems not even ren knows” yusuke didn’t like this predicament they were now in

“so how long does this last!? please don’t be forever” shiho was irritated to know that they had to stop because ren somehow turned into a mouse

”haha! I guess I’m taller than ren which makes me leader”

morgana’s comment ticked off mouse ren which resulted in mouse ren biting morgana’s tail

”YEOWWWW!!!”

morgana put his tail onto his paws where he saw the bit mark where ren bit onto his tail

he looked at mouse ren who was acting like he didn’t do anything

”why you little..!”

”ok you two let’s not have a fight right now until we find out why ren is a mouse”

no one in the group could figure out what to do in this situation as this was a new thing for all of us

” **HAHAHAHA look at you, you’re a little puffy fat mouse AHAHAHA!** ”

arsene was taking all that he could out of this situation as he’d never seen anything like this and it was hilarious to do so

” _squeak! squeak!_ ”

” **even your thoughts are squeaks AHAHAHAHA!** ”

” _squeeeek!!_ ”

” **hahahahahaha!** ”

although arsene couldn’t be heard by anyone other than ren he gladly took all he could out of the situation while ren could do nothing about it

ann picked up mouse ren gently and she examined him

even though ren was a mouse that could only squeak he still retained everything else about him 

ann gently rubbed his head which ren didn’t seem to mind as he enjoyed it quite a lot which she could tell due to the relaxed state he was in

”alright then as second in command let’s just head out of here and I’m guessing panther is taking the mouse”

makoto lead the group all the way to the outside and they even were guided by ren who sat perched on ann’s shoulder like a bird as he squeaked to where the group should go

the group made it to the outside and it seemed ren still hadn’t changed

“jeez futaba’s palace is not joke this shit really hard” ryuji had time to stretch as all they needed to do was wait for ren to revert back to human form to leave 

“so...when does ren get to change back?”

shiho looked over as she saw ann rubbing mouse ren’s belly

“panther..really?”

”what? I’m just rubbing his belly and he seems to enjoy it”

”squeak! squeak!”

shiho sighed as she massaged her brow while ren squirmed around as it looked like he was being tickled

morgana looked on in envy while the rest sort of laughed it off

”so I guess ren will be a mouse forever, so who’s gonna tell sojiro”

the group laughed at ryuji’s joke

*pop*

the group looked back to see another dust cloud envelop over ann

once it settled it seemed ren reverted back to his human form and was carrying ann instead of her carrying ren

”hey I’m back!”

“oh seems we switched places”

they both giggled to one another

he looked to ann and smiled “so should I return those head pats you gave me as payment for the ones you gave me?”

“I wouldn’t mind that”

they both giggled as ann held onto ren’s neck to be even closer while ren still held her up

”alright you two quick the flirting and let’s go”

shiho tugged at ren’s ear while ren winced in pain

”ow! raven let go”

”I don’t think I will seeing as you can’t stop flirting on serious missions”

”hey! that’s actually hurting”

”come on playboy let’s go”

shiho kept tugging on ren’s ear on their way out of futaba’s palace while ren still carried ann in his arms 

the three left the metaverse leaving the others still standing there

makoto sighed “shouldn’t they save that for when they’re on their own time”

haru giggled “I thought it was cute and adorable of them”

ryuji had his bat over his shoulder and he rested his hands on them “but I mean I gotta hand it to ren I’ve never seen ann happier”

”at least she’s taking it easy nowadays but they should really save that for another time”

”yeah! they should leave this for the real world”

the group looked down at morgana as morgana was stomping his feet

”dude just give up, she ain’t gonna be into you”

”you don’t know that!”

ryuji facepalmed while morgana was holding back tears

makoto sighed “let’s just go”

they walked out of the palace to start again another day


	65. An outing

_**Futaba’s palace** _

the group were dwelling deeper into futaba’s palace as they were able to get the door open and enter further into the palace

”queen! skull!”

both makoto and ryuji ran forward and slammed a shadow on each side of its head making it disappear

“nice work you guys” ren congratulated 

ren threw each of them a bottle of water while ren stepped in front of them to pick up what the shadow dropped

“there’s so many enemies in this area”

“let’s head out for today we have enough time to think”

the group headed out of the metaverse

NOW LEAVING

* * *

haru stretched her arms

”we’ve been making good progress right mona-chan?” haru asked morgana

”at this rate we’ll make it before the deadline before Medjed strikes japan” morgana said optimistically

”cool, well do you guys wanna grab some sushi before we split up?” ren wanted to grab some sushi and he wanted to invite the group along

”ooh I know a cool place that’s a little further away from this area” ryuji said antsy for food

“let’s do ramen instead I don’t feel like sushi today” makoto wasn’t in the mood for seafood

”alright me and ryuji know a spot” ren said

”oh boy I can’t wait let’s go before they close!” ryuji was really amped up for some food regardless of what it was

the group hustled along to the station

which was haru’s first time every going on a train and not in her limo

”so this is a subway?” haru asked as she looked around

”yeah it’s usually really crowded in the mornings but it’s calmer in the evenings” ren told her

“this is very new experience to me” haru gazed at nearly everything in the train

”well sit down it’ll be awhile before we make it to the station” shiho advised

they all sat down while ren and ryuji stood up on the subway

haru looked out the window once the train started to see all the colorful building and the lights from the cars down below

“so this is what you guys see every day?” haru asked

”yeah but it’s not much so don’t sweat it” ryuji didn’t understand why haru was so excited to see the cars down below 

“but it’s wonderful the more you look at it though, all the colors being shown down below it would make for a good art piece right yusuke?” haru looked to yusuke

”I never saw it like that” yusuke smirked at haru as he pictured the painting as if it was in front of him “you have some great insight haru”

yusuke kept trying to eye down the streets as the train moved

”so then how are you guys doing academically?”

makoto was expecting a reaction from the two blondes but they seemed very confident

“ren has been helping me in the mornings and during lunch with things I can’t grasp well” ann said trying to avoid makoto’s wrath

”that’s good, ryuji?” makoto switched her sights onto the other blonde

”don’t worry me and mishima have been studying together and it’s doing well for me I think I finally understand how to do equations” that wasn’t a total lie but he hadn’t been failing as and as before

”surprising for you” morgana jeered

”shush cat!” ryuji yelled

the group laughed while the train neared it’s stop

* * *

_**Ogikubo** _

”good evening ramen shop!”

ryuji stepped in the shop all cheerful with his chest out and his head high

”well if it isn’t the blonde runt, so then did you bring glasses-kun or shy-kun with you?” the chef joked around with ryuji

the chef knew ryuji as he was an avid regular since middle school who also brought both mishima and ren often afterschool or after their training sessions

”well I brought a huge posse with me so get your ladle and bowls ready” ryuji pointed to the group behind him who entered in behind him 

the chef smiled “so what’ll it be this time?”

”eh just give all of us the pork bone ramen but pack some flavor in me and ren’s”

”is it that kinda night already?”

”oh you know it”

the chef laughed  “coming right up”

”hey no fair I want mine to be spicy as well” ann wanted hers to be a bit spicy and a bit more packing in flavor

”coming up as well miss”

the group sat at a huge table as they waited for their ramen to come out

arrangement was makoto, haru and yusuke on one side and shiho, ann and ren on the other with ryuji hanging on the end of the table

”so this is where all of your money goes” makoto wondered how ryuji even scathed by

”it’s worth it though” ryuji didn’t mind

makoto sighed while facepalming

”alright but how good is this ramen? you better not lie to us ryuji I could be eating pastries by now” shiho threatened

”that doesn’t sound like a bad idea shiho” ann didn’t mind desserts

”right?” shiho was already drooling for some

”we came here for ramen and ann you really wanted spicy ramen so you can’t back down” ryuji looked at the two as he didn’t understand why they would get pastries straight after ramen

”but I want pastries” ann turned to ren “why don’t we get pastries after this?”

”sure why not” ren couldn't say no to ann and her eyes

ann giggled as ren couldn’t back down after seeing ann’s puppy eyes stare at him

“that’s not even cool ann I want some, ren buy me some” shiho wanted to ride on the pastry train with ann

”I’m kinda running short on cash though” ren had spent most of his cash in upgrading his fake pistol for the metaverse

”oh I see the favoring here” shiho pouted

”well ann is my girlfriend so...it’s justified..?” 

shiho groaned “you’re really gonna play that card huh ren” shiho said a little jealous that ann could get free desserts

makoto and haru looked at the other side of the table to see the two of them bickering 

“do we really have to deal with this here?” makoto wondered

haru giggled “it’s pretty entertaining”

the group started to slowly quell as they could smell the ramen filling the air

“here’s your ramen” the chef said as he placed their bowls on the table

the group got all of their ramen as it was placed in the table accordingly

the group stared at the steaming bowl of hot ramen in front of them

”this looks quite extravagant” yusuke liked the look of it

”yeah it does, it looks really yummy” ann couldn’t help but stare at the bowl

”well then let’s dig in!” ryuji said as he took out his chopsticks

”thank you for the food!” shiho said before digging in

the group started to dig into the food

”my the flavor really is packed in this” yusuke loved the mild but strong taste

meanwhile ryuji and ann still struggled with their spicy ramen

”ooohh this is the flavor..that I was talking about” ryuji had nearly gulped down all of his water”

”compared to ren’s curry this isn’t as spicy but it still packs” she looked towards ren “what about you? are you good ren”

she saw that ren was going at the bowl of ramen but he was sweating very hard as he wasn’t taking breaths in between his bites

”ren drink some water, you’re sweating too hard” ann noticed

“hmm..?” ren looked up after eating a bite

ren was breathing a bit hard as he looked to ann

she giggled as she saw a stain on the side of his lips so she took a napkin and wiped it off for him

”you big baby” she giggled once more

while the couple were eating their ramen and laughing makoto was digging into her ramen which was unlike the usual dignified and pristine student council president she always made herself to be

”I’m guessing you enjoy your ramen”

ryuji didn’t expect the student president to eat like how she was

she looked at ryuji with a glare

”we did a lot of work in the metaverse and I’m exhausted so don’t mind me” she went back to eating her ramen

”..anyways haru how’s your bowl?”

”it’s pretty good I didn’t think there could be this much flavor with a simple bowl of ramen” haru was amazed to how flavorful the ramen was

”oh you have no idea”

”to think ryuji would know of a place like this is beyond me” morgana stuck his head out of ryuji’s bag and looked over his shoulder

”hey what’re you doing in my bag? how’d you even get in here?” ryuji didn’t know how morgana got into his bag

”dunno, but that ramen looks so yummy” morgana let it slide

”it is” ryuji kept digging in

”I wanna be human so bad so I can eat all of this yummy food!” morgana eyed the steaming bowls of ramen

”wait morgana you’re human?” makoto looked up to face ryuji and morgana

”I don’t know but I gotta be human I mean I’m a talking cat with a human brain so I gotta be right?” morgana concludes

“I mean that does make sense but I’m no biologist” ryuji said as he kept slurping on some noodles

”ryuji I don’t think there’s a science that can explain morgana” makoto said

”speaking of morgana” yusuke chimed in “where did you come from?”

”I...don’t know actually I just remember being in that jail cell in kamoshida’s palace and that’s it” morgana couldn’t remember anything before that

”odd, but if there’s any answer to that it’ll be that only time will tell what you are” yusuke went back to eating his ramen

”well then let’s get back to eating”

* * *

a few minutes went by and everyone had finished their bowls of ramen 

“maaaannn I am stuffed” ryuji had two extra bowls of ramen which made it three whole bowls of ramen he ate in that sitting

”yeah but I feel my tongue is still spicy” ren could barely eat the two bowls of ramen he ordered even though he technically ate two and a half

”but it was good nonetheless” ann ordered two bowls but she shared half of the second bowl with ren

”i have to hand it to you ryuji you know your places” makoto was impressed ryuji knew a place like this “I haven’t had ramen in a while so this really is a change”

the rest of the group were fine with their one bowl 

“anyways what else should we do after this?” ryuji was still hungry

”we’re doing more stuff?” makoto looked at ryuji surprised he still had more energy

”well yeah the sun’s still out we have time” ryuji had enough energy to keep going

”I think I’ll pass that ramen has me a bit on the off side” ren wasn’t really up for another outing

”come on ren let’s do it we still have time” ryuji tried to amp ren yo for a second serving

ren sighed but then gave ryuji a smile “alright I’m down”

”hell yeah then let’s do it”

” **ooh tell them about karaoke I wanna see how you’ll hold up** ”

_”I don’t think I’m a good singer”_

” **ehh..you’ll be fine** ”

the group stood up from their table and went to leave the shop

“you sure your stomach is up to it?”

”yeah I’m fine and ready to go!” ryuji jumped back and pumped his fist in the air as he wanted to show how energetic he was

in his misstep he bumped into someone

”uup, my bad are you ok?”

the boy wiped off his suit and gave the group a smile

”no it’s fine but you seem familiar...are you students of shujin?” the boy asked

”yeah...wait aren’t you akechi-kun?” ryuji seemed to remember who he was

”why yes that is me I didn’t expect to see you all here” he chuckled

”what’re you doing here?”

”just strolling around the city having a night out” 

”that sounds nice, what does a famous person like you do on nights out?” ryuji said a he poked him in the stomach with his elbow insinuating some ‘things’

both ryuji and akechi laughed

“less than you think, more than you know” akechi went along with ryuji

the two seemed to be having a friendly conversation with eachother

the rest of the group looked on and gave a small chuckled at one of their remarks they thought was comical

while that was happening ren kept his hands in his pockets as he glared at akechi intensely

”well it was a pleasure to speak with you all, I’ll be taking leave so if you’ll excuse me” 

ryuji moved out of the way for akechi so he can walk past and be on his way

“he seems pretty chill for a guy who hates the phantom thieves” ryuji didn’t mind too much

”yeah he’s not bad looking either” shiho said as she liked how akechi looked

”shiho you got a thing for akechi?” ryuji teased 

”no! it’s just he’s pretty hot okay!” shiho defended herself

”mmhmm” 

the two began to go at each other with more insults and jokes

”hey guys I’m gonna go to the bathroom so can you guys wait for me”

the group looked to see ren already stepping away from the group

”sure thing just come back soon we’ll be waiting for you at the station”

”alright I’ll be quick”

ren walked away as the group made their way to the station

”kinda odd though” yusuke thought aloud to everyone

”whaddya mean yusuke?” ryuji asked

”isn’t there a bathroom near here why is he going back over there?” yusuke 

”I don’t know ren’s a weirdo” morgana was still in ryuji’s bag

”you’d know seeing as you sleep with him in the same bed” 

”is that supposed to be an insult?”

”I dunno” ryuji asked himself

the group kept waking while yusuke still pondered to himself

why would ren go where akechi went to?

it was very coincidental that ren went in the same direction as him but he kept a note in his mind just in case

* * *

ren was walking the opposite direction from where the group was heading to

” **ren you know you could use the bathroom in the station..right?** ”

” _I know.._ _._ ”

” **don’t tell me** ”

”...”

” **ren..just turn back** ”

” _no!_ ” 

once ren turned the corner where he couldn’t see his friends he started to sprint 

akechi didn’t go far away so it was a pretty easy find to see him

ren saw him turn into an alleyway and he immediately followed

once he turned the corner he saw akechi was staring at the entrance waiting for his arrival

ren stopped in his tracks as he looked at akechi who had a smile on his face as he knew ren would chase after him

”so you really did come..what a fool”

”what do you want akechi?”

”what do I want? I think we both know you want something from me seeing as you chased after me into this alleyway here”

”quit the bullshit you bastard I know how you play these games”

”how insightful and I just wanted a peaceful talk but it seems you won’t even go back to a first name basis”

”I said quit the bullshit already!” ren was yelling as he gritted his teeth and tightened his fist

akechi sighed as he put his hand through his hair “well then it seems your doing well..if what you’re doing can even be called that”

akechi mocked how ren was acting towards him

“so are you going to answer my question or are you going to keep dodging them?”

”ren with all due respect..tch like I’d give any, your anger won’t help you out with Medjed”

”you’re setting me up aren’t you?”

”setting you up? no no no my friend it’s merely a test you see I could easily deal with them at my leisure but I want to see how you’re holding up I wouldn’t want you to slack off, after all we still have that mission you never helped me finish”

”and why would I help you?”

”think about it, it’s all because of him that you’re in this situation and because of him you saw the horrors of how corrupt the world around us is”

”don’t spout me this bullshit”

ren wasn’t taking anything akechi said to heart which akechi knew well

he knew how stubborn ren can be but he also knew how to push him to the edge

and right now

he was going all the way

”aww come on be neighborly after all we did improve society with the year we had together in the metaverse”

”that was until I found out you were killing people and when I realized you were doing all of this right under my god damn nose”

akechi chuckled “but I did improve society by taking out those adults who were getting in the way”

”that’s not how we should do things! that’s not justice!”

”so what? we’re supposed to just let them do what they want as we take extra time to take them out? you know what happened when you took your time the first time”

ren’s anger skyrocketed as he glared at akechi and his sadistic smile

”shut up...”

”hmmm? did you say something?”

”shut your god damn mouth!”

”and what are you going to take it slow again and lose your friends like how you lost the first”

”...!” ren’s hands gripped to their fullest extent and he was so close to just assaulting akechi but he dug his nails into his palms so that he wouldn’t erupt in anger

”you could argue that being put into Tokyo was good for you but it’s only a matter of time before one of them lays six feet beneath our feet you know”

ren didn’t even speak at this point he was too engrossed in his anger to speak to him

”it’s a shame though to think you’d lose her but the more I looked at it after all those stories you’d tell me..”

”...”

”..it’s all your fault”

ren fists were slowly dripping blood as ren was digging his nails into his palms even harder now

”I mean you’re the one who lead her to her death after she had such a promising career being a grade A student and being accepted to a good high school only for you to smother those chances by letting her die, in front of you no less and then running away leaving her to bleed out”

”that’s not true!”

”oh but it is seeing as it was your fault you led her astray and now look where she is..cold, dead and forgotten into the ground”

akechi chuckled as he stepped side by side to ren as he was on his way out of the alleyway “you can say all you want about justice but know this...eventually you’ll lose all of your friends if you keep this ‘justice’ up”

akechi left the alleyway while ren still stood there his anger boiling to near tipping

“ _THAT BASTARD!_ ”

” **ren calm down he’s playing you** ”

” _ILL KILL HIM!_ ”

” **ren then you’d only be falling into his trap, he wants you to blow up with anger** ” 

“ _YOU THINK I DON’T KNOW THAT!_ ”

” **none of what he said was true now wake up** ”

arsene looked down at ren’s hand to see the blood gather at the tip of ren’s knuckles ready to drip down

” **look at yourself are you in any shape to fight him?** ”

ren opened his hands to see the result of his nails digging into his palms

” **ren you need to go back we can deal with him when we’re ready** ”

”tch!....”

ren turned back as he pulled out his phone while arsene watched

[Re: hey guys boss wants me to do something real quick so I’m not coming back]

[Ry: oh aight, tell him I said hi and I’ll drop off morgana there when we’re done]

ren put away his phone as he walked to the nearest drug store

” **ren you can’t let him play you like that** ”

” _I wanted to punch him so bad I regret not doing it_ ”

” **and who would win ren?** ” arsene stood right in front of ren so his face would be mere inches from ren’s 

“ **who would win hmm? sure you could start attacking him but then you’d be in trouble because of it akechi has the upper hand here, he could easily arrest you and put you in jail and you’d be the loser stuck behind bars while akechi would laugh at you and think about how your friends would react to that seeing you in jail how would they feel? especially how would ann feel** ”

” _you don’t understand..._ ”

” **understand what?** ”

” _YOU WEREN’T THERE FOR IT, HOW WOULD YOU UNDERSTAND!_ ”

arsene was taken a back by ren’s outburst

” **listen ren you can’t take your anger out on everyone** ”

”whatever...” ren just walked straight through arsene as he went inside of the drug store

arsene sighed as he shook his head in disapproval 

“ **what’s with him** ”

* * *

later in the evening

ann has morgana in her bag as she wanted to go deliver him to ren herself

the group broke up after hanging out a bit more but going their separate ways after the sun started to set

“man those crepes were good!”

”me and shiho know a lot of good dessert stands around here and they’re really good”

ann was nearing the cafe and was about to open the door when she saw ren through the glass door

he was behind the counter with some bandages on his hands which she took notice immediately

she entered in gave ren a big smile

”hey ren~”

”hey!” ren returned the smile back

”so I’m guessing you were working hard?”

ann pointed to the bandages in ren’s hands

”oh! yeah I kinda burned them with coffee so I got these in my hands now”

ann held one of ren’s hands as she inspected the bandages

”you know you shouldn’t be pushing yourself”

ren looked away with guilt as she was right

ann giggled “just remember if you’re in trouble we’re always here to help you”

ren smiles “of course”

”well in other news I brought morgana”

ann places the morgana bag down as morgana jumped out of it and scuttled upstairs

”so then I guess I’ll see you at school tomorrow?”

”of course, and we can always grab breakfast”

”sounds yummy, but anyways I’ll see you”

ann leaned over the counter to give ren a kiss on the cheek

”see ya!”

ann waved goodbye as she exited the cafe but she saw sojiro turn the corner as he was heading back to the cafe

“oh hey boss!”

”oh it’s you”

“so are you coming back from taking care of futaba?”

”I told you kids not to bring her up”

”oh I’m sorry”

”well she’s doing fine but I have a question for you”

”sure?”

”do you know what happened with ren’s hands? he came in with those bandages on them”

”no..? he said he burned them with coffee”

”that’s not what happened though, he came in with those on”

”he did..?”

sojiro sighed “it might be a slip or something but oh well”

sojiro went past ann as he went to go open the door

”have a good night and keep an eye on him for me, it wouldn’t be in our best interests that the boy ended up getting harmed in any way”

sojiro entered the store while ann stood there silently as she looked back to see sojiro greet ren

”he had those already?”

ann went back to the station to go home but she had that thought in her mind

”why did ren have those bandages on him?”

it was a question she couldn’t solve but it had her worried for his safety

she silently went home as that thought still flurried around in her mind

she wanted to ask him about them but he would’ve most likely shot down those answers

there was no winning with how stubborn ren could be at times so all she could do was at least try to help ren

seems she had to be more persistent if she wanted to break through ren’s stubbornness 


	66. Mental shock

_**more than two years ago** _

“ren...”

ren holding someone as they were on the ground

rain was pouring down onto the two as they lay idle in an alleyway

ren’s hands and clothes were bloody and wet as the person he was holding was slowly bleeding out right in his arms

ren felt weak and his legs burned in agony from moving them too much

”go...it’s the only way you’ll be safe”

her voice was weak and she had trouble speaking as if it hurt to talk yet she kept talking to ren

”but I can’t leave you!”

”go..you’ll die if you stay here..”

her hand caressed ren’s face as it wiped the tears that were sliding down his cheeks

she gave a weak chuckle “you aren’t this weak ren....you’re stronger than this..”

ren couldn’t say anything as his throat felt clogged and the only sounds that came out were whimpers

”but...Kasumi...”

”why are you crying?...you have to keep your head up at times like these..that’s what you’ve told me...”

”THERE THEY ARE, LETS GET THEM BEFORE THEY RUN AWAY AGAIN!” some running could be heard as two silhouettes came closer to them

”ren..go...they’ll catch up to you if you don’t go now”

ren still held onto her as tears fell from his face

”don’t worry ren...it’ll be fine...take care of yourself...be strong...for me..don’t lose yourself...ever....”

ren nodded as stood up wiping the tears off his eyes with his sleeve as he ran away as fast as his legs could go

he kept running as tears still flew from his face

blood on his hands

his legs in complete agony as they started to give out

his head hurting

the rain pouring down on his head and body

and his ears that were ringing endlessly

his mind was completely blank and empty of thoughts except for that image of her laying in the ground helpless and motionless

it stuck itself inside of his mind that entire time

the scene of someone he held dear dying in front of him

as her blood being stained onto his hands and clothes but they would forever be embedded into his memories

”it’s your fault..”

”it’s your fault..”

”it’s your fault..”

a voice kept echoing in ren’s head and it wouldn’t go away

ren kept running but he eventually fell on the ground while the rain kept pouring on his body

his legs couldn’t move no more so ren laid there helpless

he escaped...but should he have?

ren sat up on his knees as he stared into the gray cloudy sky as the rain kept pouring down and pounding onto his body

all ren could do was scream at that moment as there was nothing else for him to do

* * *

ren shot up from his bed breathing heavily

his heart was racing and his head was hurting slightly

he put his hand on his eyes as he rubbed it

after that he took his hand out of his face and gazed at his bandaged hand

he tried remembering what his hand looked like in that dream but all he saw was his bandaged hand and nothing else

ren laid back into bed while taking deep breaths to calm his nerves

morgana jumped onto his chest and started to paw at his face

”come on get up we have a busy day today”

”in a bit...I’m just..resting for a minute before I get up”

”alright..I’m gonna go do cat things”

morgana jumped down from ren’s chest and his bed as he scurried across his floor

” **you doing good?** ”

”yeah...just a bit antsy”

” **a bad dream..?** ”

”I guess you could call it that”

ren silently sat up again and got off of his bed

arsene stared at ren as he got changed

he floated there confused and curious and what ren was dreaming about

it had him intrigued but he knew ren won’t budge to tell him

” **oh well** ”

* * *

ren stood in front of the Shibuya station as he was waiting for ann to come as they planned for breakfast

it was a nice summer day where they had no school and nothing to truly worry about

he went to check his phone to see what his friends were texting when his eyes were covered from under his glasses

”who turned off the lights?” ren said jokingly

”guess who~”

”either the hands of the most wonderful person alive or crepes”

”uhhh I don’t know which one I would be”

”I think both is the answer you are looking for”

”then I guess you win” ann giggled as she took her hands off of ren’s face

ren turned around to see a smiling ann grapple onto his arm and hold his hand

”we have time..can we grab breakfast”

”you don’t wanna get fat do you?”

ann started to pout as she gripped onto ren’s upper arm even tighter

”I’m not fat!”

”I never said you were”

”hmph!”

ann looked away from him even though she still clinged onto his arm and his hand

ren with his free hand reach over rubbed Ann’s hair

after a bit of this ann gave up

”there’s no winning with you” ann muttered as she turn back around and poked him on the nose

“so then where do you wanna go?”

”let’s just go to the diner I’m feeling some pancakes”

ren sighed but chuckled straight afterwords “so we’re going simple today?”

”mmhmm!”

the two walked together side by side as they went to the diner and awaited for their friends to show up to ren’s place, but for now they had some time to kill before they went into futaba’s palace

* * *

_**Diner** _

the two sat at a table for 2 on opposite sides of eachother

they had already ordered their food so now they were just waiting for it to come out

”hey ren..”

”hmm?”

”can..I see your hand?”

”sure..?”

ren laid his hand over the table and ann put her hand through it as she felt through the bandages

she felt the scabs on his palms from under his bandages

she gave a sigh then looked at ren somberly

”you’re lying to me, aren’t you..”

ren was taken a back

”..no I’m...not”

she sighed again but even more gloomy than the first

”you’re doing this again ren”

”doing what?”

”hiding you problems from me..you keep doing that and hiding from me thinking it’ll be fine”

she put her other hand in ren’s hand as they grabbed his gently and softly while ren stared at her the entire time

”you always burden yourself with these problems without telling anyone about them”

ann looked back up to ren as she looked straight into his dark eyes

”what are you hiding?”

”I’m..not..” ren looked down away from her eyes

”you’re not a good liar, sojiro told me you came into the shop with those on”

seemed ren was caught in the act and he had no choice but to concede

”it’s..stress..”

ren wasn’t half wrong about it but he couldn’t exactly tell her the truth

”stress?”

”I’m sorry it’s just this work can be a big strain..maybe it’s catching up with me”

ann sighed as she lifted her hand to place on ren’s cheek

”dummy, that’s why I’m here...to help you when you’re down”

ren felt guilty for not being honest with ann but he didn’t want her to worry for his sake just yet

“sorry..”

”just let me know next time and we’ll work it out”

ann stood up from her seat

”I’ll be in the bathroom, so just wait for me”

she walked away to the bathroom while ren sat there reflecting on what she said

” _I’m a bad boyfriend.._ ”

ren felt completely guilty and was tagging on himself for not being honest

” **I can slightly sympathize with you** ”

” _you can?_ ”

” **you were barely able to repel akechi the first time you fought him** ”

ren remembered the first time they fought back in his father’s palace

it was the first time they really fought with eachother but ren was able to combat him due to akechi being too engrossed in his anger to think straight and ren having the upper hand in actual experience

” _I was able to fight him but seeing him now after a year and half...I don’t think I can be compared to him, he must’ve gotten stronger through out the year_ ”

” **don’t forget you have also gotten stronger, you can use multiple personas and two at once, you’re pretty strong already** ”

” _but I can’t slack around him...who knows what he may pull.._ ”

” **he’s already testing you with Medjed** ”

” _yeah.._ ”

ren looked under his bandage to see his wound slightly healed

ren sighed as he laid back in his seat

” _I’m just gonna hope I don’t have to fight him anytime soon_ ”

” **we can only pray** ”

and a bit more waiting ann came back and so did the food

ann gazed at the pancakes she ordered

ren was already going into his food while ann still stared at her food

”you gonna eat or are you just gonna watch your food?”

”i am!”

”well hurry we up we didn’t get up early just so we would waste time to get some breakfast and then miss the train because of it”

ann pouted as she proceeded to shove a huge piece of pancake into her mouth

ren laughed as he drank his coffee while ann gave him the stink eye

”those wrinkles may stay there if you keep looking at me like that”

”what are you my mom?”

they both laughed

“speaking of parents, how are yours?”

”oh they’re doing a show in Germany and they won’t be back until December and they’ll stay here for about a week before they leave again”

”that kinda sucks, not being able to see your parents for most of the year”

”yeah it honestly was lonely not being able to see them but shiho was always there to keep me company”

”well you two are best friends so it makes sense”

”yeah but now I have everyone else and you..” she reached over to hold ren’s hand

ren returned the gesture by holding her hand and looking at her blue eyes

”I love you ren, nothing will change that...you’ve impacted my life too much for me to let you go easily”

”I don’t think I could allow myself to lose you either, I care for you too much”

the two stared at eachother and were about to  lock lips with eachother

when..

”ahem!”

morgana shuffled in the bag to stare at the two in disappointment

”we have a palace to go to”

ren pulled out his phone to see they were running short of time as the group chat started to get more and more lively

”crap..”

ren put away his phone embarrassingly as the two separated their hands

the two rushed themselves to finish their food while morgana looked on is disgust

”so is this in jealousy or..?”

”eat your damn food!”

morgana was fed up with the two and hated being in ren’s bag to see this

arsene floated in the background while laughing

” **oh cat..you’ll never change** ”

the two finished eating their food and rushed to the station after paying their tab

* * *

futaba’s palace

the group walked around futaba’s palace

ren wasn’t on the frontlines as his hands were still healing and he couldn’t apply a lot of pressure onto them without them hurting

makoto was in the front this time while haru and shiho stood by her side to smite any shadow that tried to hit attack them on their side

ren looked at his glove as the pain of his wound still could be felt through his gloves

they treaded forward after taking out a few more shadows

this time ren took out the shadow without much issue

”hey joker look a treasure!”

morgana pointed to the glowing drop that the shadow left behind when it disappeared

”let’s see what we have here..”

ren stepped in front of the group to pick up the treasure

as he bent over to pick up the drop an image flashed over him

instead of the drop the image of the dying girl in front of him popped up

she was faintly smiling at him 

ren completely froze up and he wasn’t able to move

” _you aren’t this weak ren_ ”

her voice entered into his mind and ren was completely paralyzed as a result

images kept flashing into his head of that moment

“joker...”

”joker..”

”joker!”

ren snapped out of his mind to see ryuji shaking him around

”yo, you good?”

”huh?”

”don’t space out we’re in the middle of a mission”

“my bad I kinda got lost in my thoughts”

ryuji slapped his shoulder while giving a big grin

”come on leader! you gotta keep your head up at times like these”

ren had another flash of images before he nodded at ryuji

they walked forward as they went deeper into the palace

* * *

they made it to a room with some puzzle pieces that looked awfully familiar

one of them looked like shadow futaba while the rest were dark silhouettes with black suits on

seemed one of the silhouettes was reading something to futaba while she was crying

the group couldn’t exactly make out what was being shown

”there is a lot going on here..” ren couldn’t make out what he was looking at

”seems to me like this figure is reading something to the crying child” yusuke had an eye for telling the emotions of a painting or drawing

”what’s it say fox?” ryuji was clueless when it came to art so he was relieved to know an art genius like yusuke was on the team

”there’s a deep feeling of pain as if the child is being read something that is unpleasant and scarring for a child to hear”

all of the sudden a small rumble came around

” _it’s from my mom?”_ a small child’s voice presumably futaba’s could be heard echoing throughout the confines of the room

” _yes, it says and I quote. ‘I should’ve never had futaba, she is a burden to me and everyone else’. seems to me that you’ve done a great deal of damage to your mother futaba-chan it could be symptoms of maternal neurosis_ ”

” _what..does that mean”_

_”it means your mother is dead and you’ve been a great burden to her”_

_”huh..but I haven’t..”_

_”now now futaba-chan let’s say goodbye and move on”_

the voices and rumbling stopped as the group stood there reflecting on what had happened

”holy shit, that’s...that’s some heavy stuff to drop on a kid” ryuji was displeased with what he heard

”this is very sad to hear, sounds like futaba was exploited with her mother’s death”

”that’s so sad..”

”no wonder futaba blames herself, she has it stuck in her head that she killed her mom”

“well now that that’s clear it seems we have more to uncover”

* * *

eventually the group made it to a safe room

shiho crashed into one of the chairs while letting out a deep sigh

”this palace is way more difficult than the others”

”and we’re slowly running out of supplies” makoto threw away an empty water bottle

”but we are getting closer, right mona?”

”yeah we’re at least maybe a third of the way”

”only a third!?” ryuji slumped all the way back in his chair whilst groaning

“no whining remember why we’re here”

”but queeeen this is so tiresome”

”not buts either”

ren laughed loudly while the rest of the group looked at ren jealous

”joker you certainly do have a lot of stamina to be laughing like how you are” yusuke looked at ren surprised ren could keep moving

”that’s no fair! joker has been in the back because of his hands”

”what you think I can’t go on even with these injuries?”

”yeah! try to be like us and go on the frontlines”

”mona I’ve been in the frontlines since before I knew you guys, I don’t think it’ll be that hard”

”oh really..?”

morgana wanted to test ren as he really wanted to get a win over him

”mona naughty! and as for you joker you’re injured you’re not meant to be doing as much we can do just as fine with you as support” haru didn’t like that ren was over exerting himself

”it’ll be fine noir”

”panther..”

haru looked to ann who stood up from her chair and slapped ren over the head

ren rubbed the back of his head as he stared at ann

”please..?”

ren was trying to puppy dog eye shi was through ann

although it was effective ann stood her ground

”no! you’re injured, you can’t stress your body like that. you need to remember that you aren’t invincible and the fact you’ve needed our help because you overworked yourself several time in kaneshiro’s palace, we can handle it ourselves”

”fine..”

”good~”

ann gave a kiss to ren’s cheek while she stood next to him with a smile

makoto stood up from her seat

”alright I think we’ve recovered enough let’s try to go for one more push before we leave today”

”right!”

* * *

the group were on the hunt again

they've made it past one door so now they were figuring out a way to make it past the next door

a group of 4 shadows popped up

ren pulled out his dagger as he was ready to deal with them easily

”joker..”

”yes panther..?”

ann looked at him with a glare

”r-right”

” **seems she means busines** s”

ren put away his dagger while ann joined up with yusuke, shiho and ryuji as they would be the ones who would take on the shadows while haru, mona, makoto and ren stayed behind playing support

”let’s move!”

the group charged the shadows each taking one

ryuji took his time playing whack a mole with one of the shadow while shiho kept her distance with her spear

yusuke already took out his shadow as it was weak to ice so he had barely any issue

ann didn’t have any real problems with the shadow she was taking on as neither her or the shadow had any move that would deal some heavy damage to eachother

the battle lasted on for another minute before the 4 defeated all of their shadows

shiho planted her spear into the ground

”fox! that was my shadow I could’ve dealt with him on my own!”

yusuke after he beat his shadow helped out shiho who seemed to be taking long to take her shadow out

”but aren’t you susceptible to curse?”

yusuke was right as shiho was weak to curse spells

”yeah? and it was going to be some training if I dealt with him alone”

yusuke and shiho bickered on whule ryuji  was swinging his bat

”hey panther you getting their drops?”

”yeah! give me a moment”

ann was picking up the drops that the shadows dropped

unknown to her was that a 5th shadow was slowly coming up behind her

“panther watch out!” makoto yelled for ann to move away

ann looked up as she didn’t know what makoto was talking about

before she could turn around in time ann was swept off her feet and kicked over to where the group was but she wasn’t close enough for the group to assist immediately

the shadow prepped a nuke spell while ann laid on the ground as she still felt the shock of the shadow’s attack

ren looked at ann who laid on the ground in a very similar position that gave ren a new flurry of images that went around in his head

” _you’re stronger than this...ren.._.”

the image of kasumi being on the ground flashed into his mind and it clicked in ren’s head

he breathed heavier as he pulled out his dagger and pistol and prepped himself

”oh crap, panther! I got you-“

shiho steadied her rifle at the shadow but something or rather someone ran past her

the rest of the group than felt the gust of wind that went past them when they were passed by someone

ann tried to sit up and she saw the charged attack the shadow was about to release on her

she had no time to dodge so she sat there and braced for impact

the shadow then unleashed its spell

ann sat there waiting for the attack to come

but nothing came..

she slowly opened her eyes to see ren in front of her with his dagger in the shadow’s abdomen

”this is for kasumi!”

that’s all ren said before ren laid waste to the shadow as ren kept slashing it with his dagger and unleashing various elemental spells on his

the shadow fell over after ren’s short onslaught of attacks ended

the shadow looked up at ren to see him step over with his pistol in his hand

” **please..spare me..** ”

“i don’t give pity to those who kill my friends..”

ren pulled the trigger and shot the shadow

ren without a second thought kept shooting until his clip was empty

the shadow disappeared while ren was still pulling the trigger to an empty mag

”holy shit..” ryuji had no words for what just happened

”that..was fast..” morgana didn’t even see ren half the time as ren was too quick for his eyes to see

“ **ren calm down there it’s over** ”

ren was still clicking on the trigger

”joker..?”

ann stood up and slowly approached ren as she saw he was still frantically pulling the trigger

ann grabbed one of ren’s shoulder and turned him around

when she did she saw that ren had tears strolling down his eyes

”joker..are you ok?”

”kasumi..”

”who?”

ren finally came back to his sense as he looked down to ann to see she had a worried look as she didn’t think ren would react so violently

”who’s kasumi..?”

ren realized what he said and he tried to think of a way out

except

there was no way out and ren had to come clean

”it’s...a long story..i think we’ve done enough here..let’s go back”

the group nodded as they went to go leave the palace

* * *

NOW LEAVING

the group appeared back into the real world on front of sojiro’s house

the group stared at ren while ren looked sad and gloomy

”so..ren what was that about?”

ren took a deep breath before speaking

”k-kasumi was a childhood friend of mine who i knew since the start of elementary school, we hung out ever since we met and we were good friends...however”

ren couldn’t help but let a tear leave his eye 

“she passed away two years ago right in my arms..I saw her die in front of me”

ren stopped talking as he started to choke up as he kept trying to suppress his tears

”she's dead now and maybe the stress is catching up to me”

”ren..I didn’t know” ann felt terrible for ren as he lost a friend and she could understand that as she almost lost shiho

“I’m sorry..” shiho also felt and as ann nearly sold her life away for her safety and she might’ve never returned as a result

”losing a friend is always a heavy loss” haru stepped forward as tried to comfort ren

”dude..it’s cool I didn’t think you went through so much” ryuji didn’t know how to comfort ren

”well at least you told us, I believe we are the best set of people for you to tell us” yusuke was pretty correct with his statement as nearly everyone in the group had lost someone close to them

yusuke lost his mom

makoto lost her dad

haru lost her mom

ryuji had been dealing with the fact that her mom had a hard time being a single parent

and both shiho and ann nearly lost their lives trying to help eachother

”you know ren you shouldn’t be keeping secrets from us..we’re meant to be a team and teammates are meant to help eachother out” morgana popped out of ren’s bag to speak his mind

”thanks guys all of you..”

”just remember we exist for a reason ren..”

”right..”

the group stood there for a bit more before they split up for the night

this night ren decided to rest for once and he slept early

* * *

ren laid at his bed while he inspected his bandages

”I think I may have accidentally opened the wound again

”you’re an idiot ren” morgana tried to find a spot on the edge of ren’s bed for him to sleep

”sorry”

” **you really are for that whole ordeal and you really need to calm your anger** ”

” _my bad I see I may be a bigger idiot than before_ ”

” **anyways I’m glad you confessed about it, I never knew you went through so much with this person** ”

” _yeah..I did..sorry for always lashing out_ ”

” **it’s fine but now it’s bed time, you need your rest for sure this time** ”

” _yeah...I’m not gonna argue_ _this time_ ”

”well then good night”

”night ren”

” **same here** ”

ren chuckled as morgana didn’t know about the giant winged persona floating behind him

ren shut off the lights and headed for bed

this time he had a nice calm dream instead of a nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty then let’s get down to business and discuss a few things
> 
> 1\. I did mention that Kasumi is ren’s friend who dies in his arms 2 years ago so I will be mentioning her later on so spoilers for her character if I mention her backstory before royal comes out for the west (I already took the liberty of spoiling myself so you won’t have to)
> 
> 2\. a bit more depressing stuff as ren can’t get over the death of his friend even when he comes clean about what happens to her (but there’s more he’s hiding) so I’ll be going a bit more in depth about it later on (and it’ll be a BIG part of the story)
> 
> 3\. and as for the mishima situation I think I found a persona for him to use


	67. The admin gets his privileges

Daytime

ryuji loudly yawned as he sat at an open table in Shibuya

”how long is he gonna take..?”

ryuji sat in the open scorching sunlight as he was cooking from the outside

he laid his head down as he waited

”my bad ryuji!...”

ryuji looked up to see mishima running towards him

”well it’s about time!”

ryuji stomped his feet as he was waiting a long time for mishima to finally come

”sorry I got caught up with stuff and my parents too! I had to do chores around the house”

”hoho that’s no excuse to be late to an event as important as this, this is your initiation to becoming a apart for he breath phantom!!-“

before ryuji spoke further mishima put his hand over his mouth

”ryuji I don’t think we should scream that out loud”

”oh, yeah that sounds bad, but anyways we’re here to make sure you get to become one of us! you prepared?”

”I am! but ryuji..”

”yeah?”

”it’s not gonna be the two of us..is it?”

”whaaaat, what’s wrong with me?”

mishima looked at ryuji with no expression

”ryuji..remember when you went over to my house to study..”

”yeah? we had a good time”

”you! had a good time I was stuck losing sleep because of you having me to help you, I mean who doesn’t know how to do addition!”

”well not me obviously because I know how to do simple math”

”ryuji..you...nrgghh”

mishima gave up in trying to argue with ryuji as he realized how pointless it was

“so then are you ready?”

”ryuji...who else is coming with us?”

ryujo then sighed as he went to scratch his head ”i haven’t asked yet”

”then ask..”

”but I know it’s no use, makoto is probably studying, ann and ren are most likely on a date, yusuke may be doing art stuff, shiho is doing...whatever she does, and haru is doing.....I don’t know what haru does”

”then I’ll ask for you”

mishima pulled out his phone and opened to the group chat

[Mi: hey guys is anyone open for training to get me to awaken?]

no response

[Mi: hello?]

[Y: I’ll assist you]

[H: me too! it’ll be a nice fun trip]

[Mi: anyone else?]

[A: sure]

[S: let’s see how south this goes]

[Ma: it won’t]

[Re: I’ll help I’m not doing anything else]

[Ry: nice we have the cat van as well]

mishima looked to ryuji confused

”cat..van?”

”you’ll understand soon”

[Ry: alright let’s meet at leblanc so we can go from there]

[Y: fair]

[H: sounds like a plan]

the two closed their phone and walked to the station together

* * *

_**futaba’s palace** _

ryuji and mishima appeared in the barren desert right in front of futaba’s tomb

mishima looked around to see the dry desert surrounding

”w-where are we?”

”we’re in a palace, a place of someone’s distorted desires”

the two saw the rest of the gang walking up to them

”oh hey ren!” mishima waves his arm to ren

”i told you to call me joker in the metaverse”

”oh, my bad joker”

”that’s better”

”anyways where are we?”

”someone’s palace of distorted emotions”

”that sounds rough”

”it is, I’ll explain it all to you later”

”that sounds fine. so if I remember joker, fox and skull and...” mishima went and pointed at each person but stopped at haru as he didn’t remember who she was

”oh I’m noir”

”ok so noir but...who are you?”

”I’m haru Okumura I don’t think we properly met before I’m a third year”

”oh alright my then haru-san”

he switched his sights to ann

”and you’re takamaki-san?”

”it’s panther in the metaverse”

mishima then eyed her very risqué outfit and her opened top that exposed some cleavage

”where are you staring at!?”

”n-n-nowhere!”

seemed mishima stared for a bit longer than what was needed

he turned his attention to shiho

”suzui-san?”

”it’s raven”

mishima stared at shiho’s outfit and saw that she had a skirt but nothing to cover her bare legs

”cool...but why aren’t you wearing pants”

shiho pointed at mishima with her spear

”I think your staring too much”

mishima backed away in fear while he slowly switched his view to makoto

”a-a-and you?”

”queen, I’m second in command here”

”cool, nice knuckles”

mishima complimented makoto’s knuckles that had very noticeable spikes on them

”cool so that’s everyone and I have to say your outfits are very cool-“

”ahem! you’re forgetting someone”

mishima looked down to see morgana standing there with his paws on his hips as he waited for something

”uhh joker...why is the talking cat here as well?”

”he’s our magical cat that is able to go in and out of the metaverse, he also doubles as our ride when he transforms”

”trans..forms?”

”mona, show him”

“righto”

morgana shape shifted into van right in front of mishima’s eyes

mishima was in complete shock as he didn’t expect for the cat to be able to turn into a French van

”h-h-huuuhhh??? is this...how does...this is possible??”

mishima couldn’t even think

not only was there a talking cat but he was able to go in the metaverse and then turn into a van?

mishima couldn’t comprehend anything but he just accepted it as reality

”s-so...a van..?”

”it’s how people see talking cats apparently”

”g-good to know, people see cats as beings that can shape shift into cats...wonder how they view dogs”

”well introductions and cats turning into vans aside” ren stepped up in front of mishima with a serious look “we’re here to help you awaken and if you can remember from last time you failed but maybe if there’s people who’ve suffered just as much as you”

”you all have?”

”it’s a long story but we’ve all been through a lot and it would be a long afternoon if we spent it all just talking about our life stories”

”that’s fine I don’t think I could handle all these shocks”

”alright well this will be our second attempt at this and I believe you’ve spent your time thinking all about it”

”y-yeah”

mishima took a big gulp

ren still stared at him intensely

”then what’s been troubling you?”

”what’s troubling me..?”

mishima looked down at the ground before speaking again

”I’ve been the odd one out my entire life...a zero as you’d call it, you know being the butt of every joke in school”

”and then I came into high school and I thought I should be someone and so I joined the volleyball team once it started, sure I was bad but I thought it’d be fine...except kamoshida took me as his personal punching bag and was making me doing all sorts of things...to be honest I was close to ending t all until we played together in the volleyball match when you saved me from another headache”

ren chuckled “you’re very welcome”

”I thought that volleyball match would be a bore and unfair but then you stepped in and won the game for us and you hit kamoshida right where it hurt”

”what does he mean by that?” yusuke didn’t hear about a volleyball game from the group

”fox shhh!”

”and when you kept stepping in and risking your life just so you could stick it to him I thought I was saved it wasn’t until I saw those calling cards when I really knew that you guys were the thieves who saved the school”

”wait you knew by then?”

”I could tell that is was skull who wrote it”

”you could!?”

”skull you have a very distinct handwriting”

”damn..”

”well maybe it was my own selfish goals but I wanted to help you and maybe crush those who bullied me but then I realized something, people who bully are usually the ones who are suffering the most and I’ve seen that and it kept me thinking is that why I wanted to be with the phantom theives? no, I wanted to help because I wanted to return the favor t you guys for saving my life from the hell and torture from kamoshida and I have a new goal”

whilst mishima was talking a blue aura slowly surrounded him

mishima stared straight up and held his fist out for ren

”i want to help you guys more than just going after some petty revenge maybe it’s because of you that I can walk stronger than ever”

”heh, glad I could help..friend”

ren fist bumped mishima while a small black mask that stretched past mishima face onto the side of his head formed on his face

”eh? what’s this get it off!”

mishima tried to rip off the mask as he seemed to be in a lot of pain

”nrghhh!! nrghhhh!! get off you stupid thing”

” **a real man helps out those in need** ”

a voice appeared and spoke to mishima while mishima held his head in pain

” **a true warrior help out those who are in desperate need, you’ve been given that torch boy and now it’s time for you to help others** ”

”i can hear you..?”

” **do you want to help others instead of being saved all the time?** ”

”y-yeah”

” **louder boy! I can’t hear yeh** ”

”yeah!”

” **that’s the spirit and that’s the attitude that finally woke you up and realized your true potential** ”

”yeah!!”

” **now then it’s time we form a pact, whaddya say** ”

”I’m ready to be stronger than I’ve ever been!”

” **then repeat after me, I am thou** ”

”thou art I”

” **the pact of a warrior is a strong one just remember that and now that we’ve established that it’s time we show how strong you truly are** ”

”yeah!!!”

mishima had enough resolve to rip off the mask

after he did he was enveloped in a blue light

once the light settled mishima wasn’t in his casual outfit but he was it a dark grayish black rogue’s outfit fit with grey boots that went up just below his knees, a black cloak that covered his left arm, a grey tattered shirt that had sleeves covering his arms, black pants that went slightly above his waist and went under his boots and some thin gauntlets that he wore on each hand along with a long sword that he held firmly in his hand

”Marshal!”

a giant knight stood tall above him shield in one hand and a claymore in the other

”woah! a freaking knight”

ryuji was stoked to see his friend join them

”so he really did find his resolve”

* * *

_**Velvet room** _

”how interesting, he really does amaze me with how he handles his bonds”

igor laughed as he sat there in his chair watching all of this happen

”impressive as always inmate, we should commemorate him”

”save it for later justine I don’t know if he deserves it”

the twin wardens were impressed that their inmate had such a friendly presence that could have people change their outlook on the world

”but the way he changes other is very extraordinary”

”indeed it is caroline”

”but let’s see how he’ll handle his next obstacle” igor laughed to himself “how will the fool handle himself”

igor was very satisfied with the turn of events and was anxious to see how ren would do later on

”hey justine do you know what he means?” caroline whispered to justine 

justine shrugged her shoulders

”he probably means the palace owner of that tomb”

”that makes sense”

* * *

after the light went away mishima inspected his new outfit and his new sword

”holy crap this is amazing”

” **I didn’t think he had it in him** ”

” _he always did I could tell_ ”

ren stepped up to him

”so then recruit how does it feel to be a new member on our team?”

ren smiled at him while mishima looked at his shiny sword

”this is so cool I didn’t think I could have something like this inside of me and this cloak looks so cool it’s like I’m a knight or something”

”well you’re just missing your shield but you seemed like a nice warrior for our team”

”cool! wait do I get a cool name like you guys?”

mishima was extra bubbly and filled with excitement as he awaited for his answer

”hmmm any ideas you guys”

ren looked at the others for their input

”knight!” shiho was the first to answer

”sir” morgana had another answer knight related

”rogue” again with another medieval name but with ryuji this time

”those are good answer but how about admin it suits with how you manage the phan site” makoto had a straight forward answer that seemed to be agreed by everyone else

”so then I guess our rookie here is now admin, how does it feel”

mishima’s eyes shined brightly as he was happy with this new name he got

”I got to get a gun for you though..hmmm..”

”wait a gun?”

”yeah we all have one”

everyone pulled out their guns and showed mishima

he inspected all of their weapons until he stopped at haru who had a bright cheerful smile as she held her grenade launcher

”wait ren these aren’t real, right?”

”yeah these are our weapons they are air soft so it’s fine”

”oh thank god i thought that they were real and that noir had a real grenade launcher”

”oh no her’s is real”

”wait what!?!?”

out of the entire group haru was the only one who didn’t have ren buy her a weapon 

conveniently her maid bought her a grenade launcher for one of her birthdays...because that’s what a kid would want

who would’ve thought it would be useful in this situation

”but I never thought I would be standing next to my heroes” he swung his sword around “I could get used to this”

”but that’s so cool a sword is badass” ryuji was jealous to see mishima have a full on sword

”it is but it’s kinda heavy” the sword shook in mishima’s hands as if he couldn’t hold it anymore

”hey admin are you ok?”

”yeah it’s just my body is heavy and I can’t hold it anymore..”

eventually mishima tipped over and fell onto the ground eating the sand as he fell

”and there he goes”

mishima rolled into his back

”what happened why am I so tired all of a sudden?”

yusuke and ryuji walked over to help him up

”that’s the awakening fatigue my friend, once you awaken you can’t feel your everything it’s like your whole body is on rest mode”

”cool..”

”alright fox i can take him from here”

”you sure? He may be light but should you carry him?”

”of course” ryuji put mishima over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes “alright I’m ready let’s go”

“wait go? I don’t think it’s optimal if we bring him along when he just awakened” makoto tried to advise ryuji to put mishima down and for them to leave

”whaddya mean?”

”he’s obviously tired and he can’t move”

”that’s his training to become as strong as me and joker, we can’t have him slack just because he’s a new member”

”I agree we can’t have slackers”

”don’t side with him!”

the group laughed while an entity spawned in front of them

”what’s the commotion? are you here to help me?”

futaba spawned in front of the group as she stared at the newbie on ryuji’s shoulder

mishima stared up and pointed at her “who’s she”

”oh that’s futaba”

”she’s the palace owner the one who’s heart we have to change”

”I see you brought reinforcements”

”yeah and we getting closer to saving you”

”I’d advise you to not but seeing as you won’t back away...good luck..”

futaba disappeared again into thin air

“she’s kinda odd don’t you think?”

”it’s a long story with her it’ll be saved for later”

”or when we go into the palace!”

ryuji really wanted to kick shadow butt

”alright but you’re carrying admin”

ren was the first to run off as he walked up the stairs to the pyramid

”heave ho!” ryuji followed ren with mishima still on his shoulder

makoto sighed while haru patted her shoulder

”it’s okay queen”

”it’s not that it’s just the boys have too much energy even though we just got through with joker’s friend”

”yeah..but it’s better than being gloomy”

”I guess you’re right”

”come on you two we don’t wanna get left behind”

ann went up with the others while makoto stood still

”guess you’re right about that”

makoto was trailing behind them as she was the last to enter

the group spent their afternoon going through the palace and teaching mishima about the metaverse and palaces and who futaba was

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty then a bit more to discuss
> 
> Kinda had trouble with how I should handle mishima’s persona  
> At first I though Houdini because of how ambitious and loyal he was  
> But I didn’t think that would fit too well with mishima  
> Then I thought Alexander Hamilton; George Washington’s loyal right hand man  
> But then I thought I should stay with a knight outlook for him and I came up with Sir William Marshal a skilled knight who was spared by the king at the time when his father gave him up as a child (can’t remember the name I wrote this just before I release this chapter)  
> It sounded good and how mishima is loyal and very grateful to ren for saving his life and helping him so he’d want to return the favor  
> Kinda like a knight


	68. Dinner out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m just gonna stick this chapter in
> 
> I was gonna save this for later but after some rewriting I decided this was the best version
> 
> I had a longer version of this chapter but I’ll save the rest of that chapter for when the time arises

it was the evening and ren was behind the counter working while sojiro was still not at the shop

it basically went from a routine ren had to him pretty much becoming a full on worker in the cafe and most of the regulars knew about him and his curry skills

so usually in the evenings ren would be greeted but one of the elderly folk that came in the cafe for coffee

but so far it was a quiet Sunday with not a lot of customers coming in

and then the bell over the door rang

”hey ren!”

ren looked over to see a bright and cheerful detective come into the cafe

”hey..dad..”

”what’s with that monotone expression ren, it’s me your father!”

ren’s dead expression didn’t change as he poured his father a coffee

he put the coffee on the counter and his father took a seat in front of the coffee

”if you think it’s because I’m here to bother you it’s not, I promise”

”I doubt that”

”ok fine I may have some reasons why I came here today”

”which is..?”

”we’re having brunch!” he said with a big smile to see ren’s blank expression not switch at all

”cool...”

”you don’t seem to be all too shocked”

”well I’m grateful but who’s gonna run the shop?”

”don’t worry ol soji will be back in a bit so we’ll fine”

“alright but give me a second”

ren hustled upstairs to change out of his apron and to let sojiro know what was happening and at the end of their conversation over the phone sojiro gave him a “good luck” and hung up

ren told morgana who was sitting at his bed to sit out for today as he was going to stay home which morgana agreed to as he didn’t want ren to be questioned why a cat was in his bag

while kazuma stood downstairs waiting for his son he looked around the place once more

seemed ren was so normal and casual being in leblanc behind the counter

made him wonder how his life was in Tokyo as he’d never asked him directly and got an answer that wasn’t “fine or “okay”

but he knew by heart that his son wouldn’t open himself too much

he didn’t really mind but it meant he had to change his approach a little

after a little more waiting ren came back downstairs without his apron and a more casual outfit

”so then shall we hit the road”

”sure, but please don’t annoy my friends if we do happen to see them”

kazuma laughed as they left the shop “don’t worry I’ll try to restrain myself as sojiro and your mother and you little sister and everyone at the station and your friends and-”

”ok dad I get it you’re bad at listening to other’s advice”

”I’m not..okay maybe a little”

“so where we going?”

”my car”

”you brought your car to Tokyo?”

”how else did you think I got here? the force could only help pay for the rent for my flat while I have to accommodate for everything else haha...and they don’t pay me enough so I don’t do anything too over the top”

”that sucks but you have a flat here?”

”yep, wanna see?”

”later I want to get some food”

”so now you want food eh ren”

”only because you offered”

the two joked around as they walked to a nearby road where kazuma had parked his car

thw two got in and they drove off

”before we get food ren I want to go pick someone up”

”one of your cop friends?”

”nope, the student council president of your school”

”wait you know makoto?”

ren accidentally blurted out more than he needed

”oh so you’re on friendly terms with her, that makes things wayyyy easier” he gave a hardy laugh as they kept driving

* * *

they parked the car outside of an apartment complex

although ren didn’t exactly know why they were there he had a pretty good guess on the matter

ren stared out the window to see makoto stepping outside looking a bit more fancy than usual

kazuma rolled down the window to greet makoto

”hey there, you ready for the dinner?”

”I thought it was brunch?” ren wanted brunch

”don’t sweat the small stuff ren we’re past breakfast time so now it’s dinner”

ren sighed while makoto stepped into the back seat of his car

”thank you for letting me in your car amamiya-san”

makoto got in after formally greeting herself

she sat in the back and put her seatbelt on while kazuma smiled

”then off we go!”

the car started again and they were off to wherever kazuma wanted to go eat at

ren was in the front as he stared out of the window

he got a buzz from his pockets

he checked to see some new notifications from his phone

..and they were all from makoto

[Ma: I’m sorry for this]

[Ma: he sprung this idea of having dinner together and I couldn’t stop him]

[Ma: I’ll make it up to you in some way]

after ren read the messages he responded very sympathetically

[Re: it’s fine, I’m used to my dad doing things like this]

[Ma: that must be a struggle]

[Re: I’m used to it]

whilst ren was texting he was oblivious to his dad peeping on him through the reflection in his window

”hey ren are you texting ann-chan?”

”huh?? ann-chan?”

”well I want to know since she’ll be coming into the family and I want to prepare for when she meets your mother”

”dad! not when there’s other people!”

”aww but makoto is like family to me after all I knew her father very well”

”that’s no excuse to embarrass me like this!”

”but ren it’s so adorable to see you like this”

”dad! you are a 40 year old detective! act your age”

”you sound just like your mother, so straight forward and earnest”

”dad please take this serious”

”of course I am, I’m doing it right now”

”that’s a lie!”

whilst the banter was going on makoto sat in the back staring at the two not wanting to butt in for several reasons

she felt like the odd one out and she didn’t exactly know what to do in this situation

the ride ended up being a bicker between a flustered ren and a teasing father

she actually enjoyed the atmosphere as it’s been a long while since she’s been with a rowdy family like she was now

it was a nice change of pace

she started to laugh which turned the focus of the two into her

ren reacted by turning away in embarrassment

kazuma smiled as he turned his eyes back to the road

* * *

they drove up to the restaurant and they parked right in front of the shop

it was a more classier restaurant than what ren was used to going to, besides that one time they went to a fancy hotel

they headed inside and got to a table

seemed kazuma was prepared and had a table reserved for the group

they found the table and sat down 

makoto was alone on her side while ren sat on the inside of his booth seat while his father sat on the end

the were given menus by the waiter and they looked at their options

”so you two know eachother you neve mentioned that to me makoto”

”well because you’d ask too many questions for me to handle”

“I don’t ask too many questions, right ren?”

ren stared at him silently with a deadpan expression

”haha...I guess I do don’t I?”

”when the entire town says you do, I think you probably do”

”I guess I’m more thick headed than I knew eh ren?”

kazuma rubbed ren’s head which messed his hair up even more than it usual was

”dad, can you not mess my hair up?”

”but it’s already messed up”

”you know he’s right about that”

makoto sided with kazuma

“ann likes it” ren mumbled as he looked the other way from the two

once the group ordered they sat down with their iced water they were given afterwards

”so you two may I ask how you’re both doing academically?”

”same as always”

”always a high achiever makoto”

”I got the top score of my grade during midterms”

”nice job ren I’m surprised you’ve been keeping up with your studies”

”what’s that supposed to mean?”

”well you did good last year but I wanna make sure you’re not suffering from stress”

“yeah you’re right, good thing I’m not..”

ren lied to his dad right in his face

luckily his dad didn’t see his hands with bandages on as they healed enough for ren to take them off the day prior

whilst ren was checking his newly healed palms makoto stared at him disappointed and sad

she was particularly saddened that ren would lie to his father but she could sympathize with him a little for it

ren was the type of person to shoulder any burdens on himself which was very concerning as ren seemed to make it a habit for a while now maybe even before ren moved to Tokyo

but ren probably didn’t want his father to worry for him and then start delving into his personal life more than ren was comfortable sharing

but to lie and push away other people from helping you was concerning to makoto

but ren has opened up more but she could understand why he wouldn’t open up to his father as he comes off a bit strong

”did you know that lobsters are cannibals?”

ren’s father looked at the two with a smile as he wanted to see their reaction about his fun fact

the two laughed while he sat there confused

”yeah dad I guess it was good”

their food came out and they didn’t talk until they finished their food

* * *

once they had finished kazuma paid the tab and they left the restaurant

”man I haven’t a meal like that in a while”

”dad are you feeding yourself or have you never had lobster in a while?”

”i don’t mean like that ren and I of course I get enough money to feed myself, I mean it’s been awhile since I had dinner like this”

”I guess you’re right it has been awhile which is why I wanted to have dinner with you”

”exactly we have to send it together like father and son” kazuma grabbed ren with one arm and put him closer to him whilst laughing

”dad let me go”

”come on ren let’s tussle I know you haven’t let up on your routine”

”dad cut it out not when someone else is here”

”oh please, makoto knows her fair share of martial arts”

”that’s not the point!”

whilst ren bickered with his father makoto walked behind the two as they argued

it was a warm feeling as it reminded her of how her, her father and her sister would go trying to overcome their father in martial arts

it made her smile as she saw the two playfully fighting with eachother

”come on ren let’s go one round”

”fine but don’t be mad when I’m more than what you expect”

”you talk a lot for someone who only started to truly take my training serious since two years ago”

”and? I can still kick you down”

”ohohoho seems you’re a real hotshot aren’t you”

”wait ren you only started to train two years ago?” that comment struck makoto’s curiosity

”yeah..I never got into exercising my body until then”

“so...you never got into it was it be-“

”so! ren my boy how far have you gotten it with ann-chan?” kazuma cut off makoto without a second thought but he slightly stuttered when he tried to speak

“dad! what did I say about talking about her” ren’s face was red as he wasn’t expecting his dad to bring her up again

”did you? I might’ve forgotten, darn this old body I have”

”dad! you aren’t forgetful you’re doing this on purpose!”

”am I? I may have forgotten” kazuma said that with sarcasm as he pretending to think

”dad! I swear to god you keep doing this to annoy me”

”perhaps”

the three walked back to his car while ren was still embarrassed

” _why did he cut me off?_ ”

makoto didn’t understand why kazuma cut her off like that

“anyways, makoto I’ll drop you off and then I’ll take ren home, sounds good?”

“sure”

”then let’s go”

the three got into the car

it was a silent drive to makoto’s apartment

once they got there makoto stepped out

she stepped up to the curb and bowed to kazuma who had rolled his window down

”thank you for the meal amamiya-san”

”it’s fine”

she walked away as kazuma rolled up his window

”hey ren”

”hmm?”

ren looked at him

”watch the car for me”

”sure..? what’re you gonna do?”

”just a little look through to see if I can see some of my old pal’s house before I leave”

”alright..”

kazuma stepped out of his car and tried to catch up to where makoto went to

he turned the corner and saw makoto start to make her way up to her apartment

”makoto!”

”amamiya-san?”

she turned around confused why he was failing her

”I just wanted to say sorry”

”sorry? for what?”

”for cutting you off”

”just for that!?”

makoto was baffled at the fact that he railed her just to say he was sorry over a small petty reason

”well I can forgive you but really just for that?”

”well...no” kazuma’s voice went from uppity to a serious tone “I have a question, how close are you two”

”huh??” makoto thought the wrong thing when he said that

”sorry I worded that wrong but you have other friends in your friend group?”

”yeah..some school friends who we hang out with afterschool”

”well I’m glad you made friends but that’s not what I wanna talk about, have you or your friends...heard about what happened to ren”

“yeah...some of it”

”such as?”

”what happened to his friend”

kazuma sighed as he rubbed the back of his head

”so you’ve gotten close with him or at least to the point of him being able to trust you”

”hmm?”

”well the thing is ren has been very closed about his personal experiences, I don’t even know what he did back in Kyoto but he was always so busy after her death”

”so...how does this involve you cutting me off”

”well I just wanted to know how’s he doing...mentally”

”he’s been more open after he’s made a few mistakes here and there and he can’t seem to lie to ann”

”so he finally let it slip through”

”but can you tell me what happened?”

”him and his friend kasumi were close maybe a bit closer than you’d think”

”so they were best friends?”

”well probably but I suspected that they both were head over heels for eachother but neither could say..well I don’t know myself but I like to think they were as you know a father’s intuition”

”I didn’t need to know that you liked to embarrass ren that much”

”it’s a very important detail”

”just keep going on with the story”

”well anyways ren was always there for whenever she was sad or depressed and it worked vice versa so you can tell they relied on eachother”

”so they were really good friends”

”yep, but one day ren had came back in tears and his jacket was off and in his hands, when I asked him about what happened he stayed silent as he ran past me upstairs”

”that’s terrible”

”I don’t know what happened but ren was like that for a week he didn’t go to school and he barely ate, and it didn’t help that the force kept trying to interrogate him for some reason”

”he was interrogated?”

”I don’t know why the force never let me on the case they even threatened me by saying they’d remove me off if they found out I snuck in, odd isn’t it?”

“that’s very strange”

”luckily it didn’t last long, after two days they stopped interrogating him and ren went back to locking himself in his room and locking himself away from everyone”

”that’s...I don’t have words”

”but after the end of the week he snuck out and came back stranger than usual”

”stranger?”

”i don’t know but he came back apologizing for shutting himself out and he starting to go on a routine of sorts sleeping and waking up early, making his own high protein breakfast, eating more food than he did before the incident, going out to the nearby gym and coming back looking like he worked himself to the bone for some reason and when I asked him why he always dodged the question and then forced me to help him train”

”well did you train with him?”

”yeah, but I was so worried for the boy I tried to refuse but he kept insisting and after a month of this he wasn’t depressed like he was prior”

”so how long did the training go on?”

”for the entire year and half until he said he learned all he could from me and then starting to train himself or however he called it”

“but what happened with the interrogation”

”most likely about what happened to kasumi and her death”

”were you able to find anything?”

”sadly no, her death has only been ruled as a freak accident with several eye witnesses telling some gunshots were heard near the scene but no one knows what happened...I’m not sure about ren maybe he knows all about it but knowing him he’s probably never gonna tell that story”

”well I have to thank you for the story but why did you tell me it?”

”I’m worried for ren’s well being, he’s a complicated kid and if he’s been able to trust you enough to tell you about the death of a close friend, than that means I can trust you with the mission of making sure he’s alright and doing well, he can be a hard one to read sometimes”

”but are you sure we can do it?”

”if ren won’t open up to me about kasumi but he does for you then that’s more than what I’ve tried to do”

kazuma started to walk off

”but what am I suppose to do with this information!?”

kazuma stopped and he slightly turned around to look at makoto

”I’ll leave that job to you, his friends and my future daughter in law, see ya”

kazuma turned the corner and presumably back to his car

makoto stood there silently as she took it all in

after that she turned around and went up to her house

she entered inside leaving her shoes at the doorstep and walking to her room

her sister didn’t seem to come in yet so she didn’t have to cook as she was probably eating out 

she stepped into her room and sat at her desk with her phone on her desk as she contemplated on telling the group about what she was told

it would be good to help ren our with his issues but

wouldn't he feel betrayed that they were able to find out about his past when he doesn’t want to speak about it

it was something she couldn’t decided but before she could deal with that she had one more thing to do

she opened her drawer and took out her small notebook

once more she opened it and began ripping specific pages out one by one

”no, no, no”

she eventually ripped all the pages she didn’t need or want

she sighed “back to square one”

she went to a new page and took out a pen

she titled it

”HOW TO HELP A FRIEND”

she sat there in her seat taping at the page with her pen


	69. Perseverance

“Admin! Skull!”

mishima and ryuji jumped past ren and clobbered at shadow in front of them

the shadow disappeared and the two boys first bumped eachother

the group was back in futaba’s palace and they neared closer and closer to the treasure in futaba’s palace

”that was intense!”

”thanks for the assist skull”

”hell yeah!”

the two boys were pumped while the others stayed back watched them

” **seems mishima is already fitting into the group quite nicely** ”

” _it’s great he’s clicking in quickly now I won’t have to worry about having him being in the back seat to our battles like how the others were when after they awakened_ ”

“ **still he’s a natural, you think he practiced for this moment?** ”

” _I wouldn’t be surprised if he did practice in his room by swinging a stick instead of a sword_ ”

”anyways, admin I believe you get the gist of the palaces now”

”yeah I think so too but do falling boulders exist in all places?”

mishima mentioned earlier when the group was almost squashed by some boulders when they went through one of the corridors 

“nope not all of them, but it seems to be a thing with this one”

”alright”

ryuji slumped his arm over mishima’s shoulder “eh don’t worry about it with these personas nothing is gonna stop us”

”alright let’s no mess around, joker lead the way” mona wanted to get as far at they could without distractions

ren Wales forward into a hallway and then an empty room with a laser and an empty canvas

”oh it’s one of these”

joker walked over and pressed a button that made the laser shoot towards the empty canvas

the canvas filled with several puzzle pieces that were not in order

”one of these again!?” mona didn’t believe how complicated this one was

”joker I don’t think you can solve this one right?” haru hoped that they wouldn’t have to stay solving a puzzle for long

”I don’t think I could and if I tried it would take hours”

all of a sudden the puzzles started to move

”they're moving?

the group turned around to see yusuke was the one from rolling the painting and moving around the pieces

”you’re moving it fox?” shiho was shocked that yusuke was taking the challenge all by himself

”it should be a cinch for me, I think I’m the best suited to figure out a painting myself”

”well yeah that does make sense but you’re free to give up whenever you want to”

”thank you for the consideration raven but I think I’ll be able to solve this just give me some time”

”so then while he’s doing that what are we going to do for the time being”

”can I have a rerun of the whole futaba situation I don’t think I understand it too well”

mishima was still new and didn’t understand the situation

”I’ll give you the run down again, futaba is our hacker friend who is going to help us deal with medjed and in order for us to get that request we have to help her with her heart and as you can see it’s very distorted”

”yeah a pyramid that’s slowly starting to cave into itself under all this sand”

”yeah it’s how she sees the world”

”but could we get palaces like these?”

”mona I think you’re more of an expert than I am”

”alright guess I’m up” morgana jumped onto mishima’s shoulder “I think what you’re saying is impossible, we can’t due to us having these personas as technically these are our inner personalities kinda like how palaces are”

”I think I get the gist but what happens if we lose our personas?”

”lose? I don’t think we could lose our personas”

”like what if our shadows return stronger than ever does that mean we’ll get a palace?”

”I don’t think so but maybe if we lose our personas that might happen if our minds are distorted enough but I think that’s something that can’t happen”

”what if we tried through physical means?”

”physical means?”

”I can’t explain it but what if we did that?”

”then that’d work maybe but it’s nothing we could make happen or force happen”

”alright, but back to this futaba girl why is she helping us?”

”because she found out my identity the first week I moved here” ren sighed as it was something he wasn’t proud of

his identity was discovered almost instantly

”that sucks doesn’t it?”

”it does, I’m trying to keep my identity a secret yet there’s people who already know who I am”

”wait is there other people who know about who you are?”

makoto crossed her arms while she glared at ren

ren felt her eyes pierce the back of his head

”no there isn’t hehe...fox are you almost done?”

“nearly this is a very complicated puzzle but it’s pretty easy when you start getting the pieces together” yusuke pointed at the canvas “look”

the painting started to look real and not like a jumbled up mess

the group had seen other paintings depicting different things such as futaba witnessing her mother’s death

but this one seemed to be one of her tugging in her mother’s shirt in order to grab her attention

”i just need to move this one piece and I’ll be done”

yusuke moved one of the pieces and the painting became perfect as all the pieces fit and aligned with eachother

once the pieces all came together the line from where the pieces could be separated by faded as the painting become whole

”mooom come eat with me it’s so lonely at the dinner table, why don’t we go somewhere together”

futaba sounded sad and lonesome as she spoke to her mother

”now now you know your mother is busy trying to work for you now go scram I have work to finish doing”

”but mom!”

”no buts go to the kitchen, I’m a busy worker and your just a nuisance”

her mother sounded irritated and spoke to futaba angrily

the voices went away and the painting moved away revealing a path straight forward leading towards a giant door

the laser shot through the new opening and straight to the door opening it as a result

”that was her mother? why was she so angry? It’s not at all like what boss has told us about her” haru was worried for what futaba thought of her and her mom’s relationship

”I thought it was normal for kids to hang out with their parents”

”yeah she sounded so mad at her like she hated her or something”

“it’s because I killed her..”

the group turned around and saw futaba’s shadow stare at them

”futaba!” ann tried to walk forward to her

”I killed her and that means I must die..”

”that’s not true-“

”it is true...I was the one who killed my mother and so I must die”

”futaba let’s just talk and-“

futaba disappeared before ann could get closer to her

”she’s gone..”

ann looked back at the group who were unsure of what to do

”is that what happened between her and her mom?” mishima didn’t understand but he tried to piece things together

”no, what we just saw seems to be how futaba sees her relationship as her mom it’s not how the relationship really went, now come on I feel like we’re almost there”

the group hopped down to the now opened door

they walked past it and reached a glowing green door but it was covered by a sign saying do not enter and there was yellow tape on it as well

ryyji walked up to it and tried to take the sign off

it didn’t budge

”it ain’t budgin..”

ryuji took out his bat and swung at the sign

the sign didn’t even move or budge an inch and all it did was make ryuji’s bat bounc off of it 

“jeez why is this so tough? it’s just a sign?”

ren groaned heavily “it’s a cognitive thing”

”a cognitive thing?”

”seems futaba thinks of this as something of importance but what is it?”

”yeah it does look familiar” shiho tried to get a closer look 

“it’s the door to futaba’s room!” makoto was able to figure out what the door looked similar to

the door to futaba’s room in the real world

”seems like you’ve done it..”

futaba’s shadow appeared right in front of the group

“I didn’t think you’d be able to pull it off”

”what’s behind the door?”

”what lies beyond is what you seek...the pharaoh’s tomb”

”so the treasure..”

”he’s but I would be careful if you do go beyond”

”of course, but how do we open the door?” ryuji stepped forward while shadow futaba’s eyes kept on ren and not ryuji

”there is a way, but it involves getting permission from me in order to open it”

”so..can you open the door..?”

”not from me you have to get it from her”

”her? who’s her?”

”she probably means the real life futaba skull” shiho also tried to get closer to her but every time she stepped forward futaba stepped back

”but can you like tell us how?”

before ryuji would get a response futaba withered away into the air

”why does she keep disappearin on us??”

”anyways besides that we’re close to the treasure and now we’ll just need to send the calling card”

”joker, how can you be so sure that the treasure lies beyond this door?”

”didn’t you here what she said queen? the treasure is definitely behind this door ain’t that right cat?” ryuji looked down as morgana to see if he would back him up

”yeah the treasure is behind this door now all we can do is wait and send a calling card, so who’s gonna do the honors?”

”oh! me! me!” ryuji was antsy to write it

”wait I want to do it I’ve always wanted to send a calling card out to someone!” mishima wanted to jump in as it was his first mission and he wanted to send it

”wait a second you two isn't futaba a major shut in? wouldn’t it be impossible to?” makoto shattered both of the two boy’s wish to write the calling card

”shit you’re right she probably let us in since boss told us she won’t let anyone in”

”actually there’s one way we could get inside her room” yusuke had an idea

”what’s that fox?”

”if she’s only made contact with joker and if she’s only willing to talk to joker we can use him in order to safely get into her room and send the calling card”

yusuke’s plan was straight forward and simple

an easy get in and get out plan

”sounds alright but who’s gonna write the calling card?” ren looked at the group to see who would write it

before ryuji could speak up makoto cut him off

”I’ll write it I don’t trust skull in writing the calling card”

“but queeen let me do it!”

”...”

”please!”

ryuji was trying to puppy dog eyes his way through makoto

makoto facepalmed “fine but I’m supervising all of it”

”hell yeah I get to write it!”

”anyways let’s leave this place and plan for our heist”

* * *

NOW LEAVING

the group left the palace and headed to ren’s attic to fully finalize their plan

”so makoto and ryuji will write the calling card”

”me makoto AND yuuki will!”

ryuji put his arm over mishima

makoto sighed “alright but I can trust yuuki more than ryuji”

”thank you for taking me in” mishima was grateful

”eh don’t sweat it, it’s how we do things” ryuji was ready to write it

ren chuckled “alright so how about this, haru can you get us some supplies like energy drinks and such?”

”on it”

”morgana I need you to help me open the door into boss’s house”

”I’ll cover you”

”and while I’m doing that you all will be outside of the palace waiting for me while I send the calling card, any objections?”

no one spoke up and everyone simply nodded

”oh boy I can’t wait I wanna see how you guys steal hearts!” mishima was excited to see how the process went about

”yuuki I wouldn’t be too excited it’s kinda hard to steal hearts” haru didn’t want to burst mishima’s bubble and make his sad

”is it?”

”it is but we steal it regardless” ren kept it vague so that mishima wouldn’t be too disappointed

”anyways I guess we can go our ways?”

the group nodded and they all departed as they got ready for their operation

* * *

_**Futaba’s room** _

futaba stared at her screen as she listened to the group finalize their operation and begin preparation for their raid of her heart

”so...” she spun around in her chair slowly “tomorrow is it huh”

she stared at her phone as a mysterious red eye app popped up on her phone

”what’s this app on my phone doing here I thought I deleted it days ago?”

”how long will you last...”

a ghostly voice one that sounded like hers appeared

”huh?”

futaba spins round to see where the voice was coming from only to see another version of her only in a pharaoh’s clothing appear in front of her

”this is a different hallucination than usual”

she had red flames surrounding her

”how long will you let this game go on for?”

”g-game..?”

”this game you play...you run away from the outside world and shut yourself here in the cage and blame yourself for your mother’s death..”

”my mother’s..death...”

futaba looked away and she thought about her mother

”isn’t it time you grasp the truth of the situation..of everything...you know of it don’t you..?”

”...” futaba didn’t know how to answer her question

”so you’ll stay blind to the truth of the moment and what really happened to your mother..?”

”..but..I killed her...”

”that’s the false truth you believe in..remember why did you rely on the phantom theives..?”

”why...”

”you need to search for the answer yourself”

”...”

”if you don’t I will kill them all in your world..one by one...and then you’ll never be able to get help again and suffer under this lie you hold so deep in your heart”

the flames disappeared as shadow futaba disappeared from the real world

futaba sat back in her chair as she contemplated to herself

”what..do I even do..?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now we prepare for the climax of futaba’s palace


	70. Look beyond the lies!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s a loooong chapter for this entire encounter a day early instead of two/three chapters spammed across this week
> 
> Your welcome <3

_**3 years ago - Kyoto**_

ren sat at his bed as he called someone on his phone

the person answered and the two started to talk

“hey Goro you’re taking care of it right?”

[yeah..but I don’t think I can do it I’m not as strong as you]

”don’t worry about it those business men told us we’re doing a good thing right?”

[well yeah but if we shoot them in the cognitive world, won’t that mean death in the real world?]

”I don’t know? those guys said it would be fine so it should be..right? I mean they seemed to be right”

[but ren I don’t want to take any chances I mean, what if this backfired and it ends up not working it out favor]

”don’t worry justice always prevails! right?”

[i guess you’re right when you put it like that]

”like I said it will be fine as long as you keep faith”

[ok...I’m trusting you with this]

”alright then I’ll talk to you later”

ren hung up his phone and stood up

he stretched his arms as he put on some running shoes

” **training again?** ”

“yeah I’m starting to get used to this and my body is starting to form together”

ren looked under his shirt and saw his abs were starting to slowly form

he flexed his arm in his mirror and started to overdue it

”look at me, all of this work is starting to pay off!”

” **ok hot shot even though you got the body you haven’t dated anyone have you?** ”

ren looked away in embarrassment as arsene was right

” **don’t worry kid you’ll find your Juliet soon, now come on let’s train** ”

”r-right”

_**one day later** _

ren sat at the kitchen table as it was morning time and he was going out for a morning run as usual

he ate a high protein breakfast so he would build up his muscles

the only one at the table with him was his father who was reading the newspaper

the tv was on and the news was playing so that ren’s father could see what was happening

[in other news a major accident happened in Tokyo but the chase of it is unknown, but the body has been identified as Wakaba Isshiki nothing else about the situation has been confirmed-]

ren stared at the news blankly

”that’s terrible, someone lost their life like that but I guess that’s how life goes eh ren?”

”ren?”

ren stared at the screen not moving a single inch while his father stared at him

”ren..?”

ren’s father looked at him concerned as he stared at ren as he didn’t know what was going through his mind

he thought ren was having flashbacks about kasumi but ren was having other thoughts

” _fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck_ ”

” **she’s dead..?** ”

” _this is not how it’s supposed to go_ ”

ren finished his plate of food quickly and he rushed out the door without even saying goodbye to his father

he ran farther away from his home and he pulled out his phone and called goro

”pick up, pick up you idiot!”

[hello?]

”goro! what did you do?”

[i did what was needed and what you told me to do]

”but now someone’s dead because of us!”

[i didn’t know that would happen!]

”goro! you killed someone!”

[me!? you told me to do it even when I said I didn’t trust those agents yet you told me to do it regardless]

”I never expected it to be like this!”

[well the deed is done and a nuisance is out of our way so we now have more freedom to do what we want]

”this isn’t what we wanted!”

[whats done is done and I’m sorry hit have to hang up I have to attend a meeting]

”wait goro!-“

he hung up his phone and ren stared at his phone

”I killed someone”

ren’s heart started to beat faster and his breathing started to become erratic

”ren...”

someone called out to him

”ren...”

they kept calling out to him 

* * *

_**ren’s attic**_

ren woke up in his bed and escaped out of his dream

his eyes shot up and he was breathing heavier than normal

he sat up and scratched his eyes to make sure he was actually awake this time

”I see you’re awake”

morgana sat on top of ren as he was calling his name

”it’s about time you woke up I’ve been trying to get you to wake up”

ren saw the blurry morgana jumped on his bed as ren went to grab his glasses

”hey morgana”

”what’s with that look? get up already today’s a busy day”

”yep let me get ready and I’ll wait for everyone to arrive”

”okay”

morgana jumped off ren’s bed

ren yawned and stretched his arms

” **so then you ready to send the calling card?** ”

” _im gonna hope that it’s gonna be easy and not a tough time I want to save her without any issues_ ”

” **be careful with how you go about things, you don’t want to overcompensate** ”

” _when do I ever overcompensate?_ ”

” **ren...do I have to name all of them?** ”

” _yes”_

” **ren...** ”

” _alright I’ll be careful_ ”

” **good now let’s go everyone will get here soon** ”

* * *

_**Later in the morning** _

the group all sat together at the table they set up

they all were ready for what was about to happen

”haru, supplies” ren looked to haru

”check!” 

haru had a duffel bag full of drinks, snacks and other supplies for the battle

”calling card” ren looked to ryuji

”here ya go leader”

ryuji slid him the calling card

it was well made most likely because of makoto’s supervision and mishima’s assist in making it

”so it seems like we’re all ready” ren smirked ”and now all that’s left it for me to send it”

”we’ll be in her palace waiting for you to do it” makoto said

”alright I guess now all that’s left is for me and mona to enter into boss’s place”

”I’ll get the door open for you” morgana nodded as he jumped into ren’s bag

ren picked the bag up and the group moved out with everyone besides ren and mona going into futaba’s palace

* * *

ren stood in front of sojiro’s house

the rest of the group had already went into futaba’s palace so now it was morgana’s and ren’s turn to infiltrate futaba’s house and send the calling card

ren set down his bag and morgana scurried out of it and into sojiro’s house to unlock the door

” **you think she’ll let you in?** ”

”I hope otherwise I have to use another method to get in instead”

” **ohohoho the direct approach I see! so how’re you gonna knock the door down** ”

”I’m not gonna knock the door down I’ll just pick lock it”

“ **but ren think of the benefits of kicking down a door** ”

”if I were to break sojiro’s door down, he’d kick me out of the attic...after beating me into nothing but dust” ren thought about how sojiro would react

the door to sojiro’s house open and morgana peeked his head out

”I opened it now come on and stop talking to yourself”

”right!”

* * *

_**inside sojiro’s house** _

”alright how do I go about things” ren asked himself 

”trying calling her name” morgana advised

” **or kick down the door** ”

”shut up arsene..” ren murmured

”who’s arsene?” morgana asked as he heard what ren said

”no one important, now let’s see how do I get futaba to open the door..” ren tried to think

ren thought about how he should go about things

his first choice was to go a bit more aggressive to see if futaba would budge

“futaba open this door!!” 

ren yelled at the door startling morgana in the process

”don’t yell like that! go about this calmly” morgana shouted at ren

”my bad” ren apologized “alibaba I want to talk to you! chat or face to face is fine” ren took a more calm approach

on the other side of the door futaba started to shake nervously

she had prepared herself mentally for this but she didn’t expect ren to be so forceful about it

she frantically typed on her keyboard

back on the other side ren got a buzz on his phone

[Al: I don’t think I’m ready for this]

”what do you mean you’re not ready?”

[Al: I DIDNT EXPECT YOU TO BE THIS FORCEFUL]

”my bad but I wanna talk to you face to face” ren apologized once more

[Al: face to face??] 

[Al: let me prepare myself at least]

”I’ll give you a minute”

[Al: A MINUTE? GIVE ME FIVE!!!!]

”fine but if boss comes back I have no other choice then to kick down the door and force you to be ready”

[Al: K]

ren put away his phone and sighed as he leaned against the wall

“ **she’s a hard one eh ren?** ”

”yeah but I hope this is easier than I thought”

* * *

_**inside futaba’s palace** _

mishima anxiously swung his sword around as he prepared

”you really are amped up for this fight” yusuke noticed how ready mishima was

”of course I am! I get to join my heroes in battle, I get this cool sword and these powers! and I get this 12 gauge pistol, I didn’t even know these existed!” mishima was fired up for the battle

mishima gazed at the pistol ren gave him as he never got a gift so extravagant and nice before

of course it was a shotgun pistol that shot air soft pellets but in the metaverse they were real bullets and that fact only made the gift cooler in mishima’s eyes

“yep but now that the calling card is currently being sent we have to prepare for the hell we’re about to be put through” ryuji said as he rested his bat on his shoulders

”hell? what do you mean skull?” mishima asked

”should I tell him or does anyone else wanna tell him?” ryuji looked to see if he should break the ice to mishima

”nah let’s show him when we actually go and try to steal her heart” shiho wanted to see how bad the operation would go for mishima

”guys..what does she mean?” mishima’s fiery spirit started to dwindle

haru patted mishima’s back as she tried to assure him “it’s nothing serious you’ll be fine” 

”serious? what do you mean??” mishima was starting to panic

”nothing you should worry about” ann tried to calm mishima down

”can I leave?” mishima whimpered 

”haha haha....no” haru said without skipping a beat

* * *

_**back in the real world**_

ren sat in front of futaba’s door waiting for her to prepare herself as it’s been a few minutes and he was getting bored

on the inside futaba was doing deep breath exercises to calm her nerves as her five minutes were slowly ticking away

she tried to calm down her nerves as much as she could but each time she stared at the door and imagined ren standing behind it made her have a small breakdown

” _oh! maybe I should do that yoga thing that he does_ ”

sometimes during futaba’s surveillance of ren she would see some of his training that involved yoga and other aerobic exercises he’d do when he was in his attic

so she mimicked the poses he’d do and try to calm her self down

” _hey! this is actually really calming, I could get used to thi-_ “

”hey are you done in there? your five minutes have been up and I just wanna make sure you’re not trying to back out of our deal” ren said behind the door

futaba heard ren through her door and nearly had a heart attack

”I-I’m not! I’m just not ready!”

ren heard futaba’s voice call out and it surprised him

”she spoke?” ren asked

” **seems she is able to put her trust in you** ”

”well then futaba? I think it’s time you open up” ren announced

”f-f-fine...”

the doorknob jingled as futaba fumbled with the lock

the door unlocked and the door slightly creaked open

”guess I can enter in now”

ren stepped inside her room and saw it filled with papers, textbooks, manuals, mangas 

any book, paper or newspaper was all on her floor

she had bags of random trash and others things assorted around the place

she had stickers and posters aligned on her walls and closet

her room was basically a total and complete mess

but there was one thing that was missing

there was no futaba in sight

”where could she be?” ren looked around cautiously as he didn’t wanna slip on the papers that were on the floor

” **hey ren there’s some rumbling in that closet** ”

arsene pointed to the closet where some shaking inside could be heard

”so you’re gonna shut yourself in here until the end?” ren notices the shaking of the closet too

”and we can’t leave either even if the door’s open a fence or another door probably popped up in her palace” morgana concluded as he entered in the room

he jump up on her desk and began to inspect her computer

”i don’t understand...why do I need to open the door!”  futaba sounded nervous and scared behind the closet

”because if you don’t we can’t get past your cognition and we’ll be unable to steal your heart if that makes any sense to you”

”I...I think I get it, you can’t get past and steal my heart because of something I see as reality, right?” futaba seemed to have an understanding about the metaverse

”you’re spot on, I didn’t think you knew about it so well” ren was surprised about how knowledgeable she was

”well I knew about it for a while now”

”so I’m guessing you know about your mother’s research? about the cognitive pscience right?” ren went straight down to business

”hmm?” morgana didn’t know about this part

”y-yeah” futaba answered honestly

”so how did you find out about it?” ren asked

”I hacked some important government stuff and I was able to retrieve it” futaba had hacked her way to some clues about it

”impressive so I guess you know about her research?” ren asked

”y-yeah but it wasn’t much”

” _so they didn’t digitally insert all of her research_ ”

” **fishy** ”

”but besides that can you tell me why you called yourself alibaba? it’s a wierd name choice for you a hacker” ren asked

”don’t diss my name! I worked hard in thinking about it!” futaba sounded angry through the closet door

”sorry, sorry but I need you to do me a favor”

”what’s that?” futaba was curious to what ren would want now

”I want you to leave the closet so that we can finally steal your heart once and for all and take away those distortions you hold within your heart”

”.....” futaba was silent

”I know you didn’t kill your mother, you saw it yourself she collapsed on the road” 

ren knew about how she had passed on from the palace

“.....”

futaba wasn’t responding as she was holding her head in pain trying to remember what happened with her mom

”it’s up to you to make that decision, do you want to open up to the world and let us help you or will you keep yourself locked away from this world forever? believing in a lie you think is true..” ren said as he stood in front of the closet door

no response

ren sighed as he scratched his head as he started to walk away

”maybe I should’ve came in here with makoto I think she’s better as this than me-“

all of a sudden the closet door shot open abruptly and futaba jumped out with her arms extended out in front of her

her face was beet red as she was embarrassed to let her face out to a complete stranger

she hadn’t willingly shown her face to anyone besides sojiro in a long time

”FINE THEN JUST TAKE IT FROM ME!”

futaba was very flustered and she was shaking nervously

”what are you doing?” ren jumped back a little over the sudden bursting of futaba into the open 

” **I think she wants a hug...or something like that** ”

ren was confused by futaba’s actions

”WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR TAKE IT FROM ME!” futaba was completely embarrassed and she was starting to shake more and more 

”ummm... not to burst your bubble but..uh the change of heart isn’t done at this exact moment there’s more steps involved” ren broke the news to futaba

”oh...I see...” futaba said as she dropped her arms and she slinkered in defeat

she tried to slowly step back into the closet

but ren wasn’t having any of that so he reached out grabbed her shoulders and spun her around so that he was in front of the closet where futaba was originally and that futaba was where ren stood

”uup uup uup, you can’t go back into the closet if you do this wouldn’t work” 

futaba was red in embarrassment as she stared at ren

”y-y-you tricked me!” futaba began to slowly lose it as she pointed at him angrily

”easy there I didn’t trick you I just needed you to come and talk to me face to face, no harm done there” ren said as he crossed his arms in front of her showing that he had no interest in budging now that he was this close

”how do I know I can trust you! you’re probably in it for money or how I can hack governments and stuff!” futaba tried to assume what ren would do

“I don’t think I could be that sinister” ren sighed 

futaba seemed to have a very big imagination as she attempted to accost ren

”but I can’t trust you after all I don’t know you”

”you don’t know me yet you asked for my help specifically, and you’ve overheard my conversations and since you did you know about what happened to my friend and a bit of my own situation here”

”y-yeah..I’m sorry about that” futaba said out of sincerity 

”it’s fine but I think you can trust me after all we’ve lost people dear and near to us right?” ren tried to get him and futaba on the same page

”yeah you’re right about that..” futaba started to see eye to eye with ren

ren sighed but gave futaba a sincere and genuine smile

”anyways now that you’re out and comfortable we can finally speak to eachother for the first time as equals”

”equals?”

”yeah after all we’re in the same boat aren’t we?”

”I guess you’re right hut can I ask you a question”

”what’s that?” ren was curious

”how do you enter in this cognitive world?”

”it’s an app that allows us to enter in, we need keywords to do it which is why we asked you for what you thought this house was, we entered in your name, sojiro’s house and then we could get in your heart” ren might as well be honest with her since she already knew bi out the metaverse already

”sounds like a lot”

”yeah but now I need you to help me and read this calling card for me so that we can save your heart for real this time”

ren handed her the calling card and she took it

”this is the calling card?” futaba looked at the card and she tried to examine it as much as she could

”yeah, it’s what you need to read in order for us to save you”

”alright..I guess I have to” futaba agreed to read it

”so I guess we really can make this deal work out right?”

”I guess..”

ren reached out and patted her head 

futaba didn’t resist as it felt familiar to her like her mother was rewarding her all over again

”don’t worry futaba, I’ll make sure you’ll be able to see the world again..and once we do we’ll be able to talk to eachother instead of through screens...sounds good?” ren smiled brightly at her which called futaba even more

futaba grabbed ren’s hand with both of her hands

”oh! sorry was I being too direct?” ren tried to pull back but futaba wouldn’t let him

”no no no it’s fine I just hadn’t felt something like this in a while, so I’m not quite used to such a pleasant feeling just yet but..it’s nice..”

ren kept rubbing futaba’s head while futaba stood there blushing

“well I guess I can trust you’ll read the card right?” ren stood up with the same smile

”yeah...I will thank you”

”then I’ll be off, you’ll get better soon I promise you that”

ren stepped out of her room and was about to close her door for her when she called out to him

”can I come with you!?” futaba asked as she looked at him

ren stopped and looked at her

”I’m sorry I can’t bring you along, it’s too dangerous for me to bring you along, I wouldn’t want you to get hurt” 

”I-I understand...” 

”then I’ll be off, see you” ren gave her another warm smile

ren left her door open as he wouldn’t want her cognition to still be there so he left it slightly open

futaba looked at the card and read it out loud

”a great sin of drowning in sloth and so we’ll be stealing those distorted desires...”

futaba put down the card and sat on her bed

”so this is what happened”

” _I’m gonna die_ ”

her shadow called out after futaba read the card

* * *

ren stepped outside of sojiro’s house where morgana sat there waiting for him

”guess I didn’t need to watch her read it” morgana wa sim pressed by how well that encounter went

”I didn’t think she was so timid” 

”but at least she trusts you the most so it was easier than we thought”

”true..now all that’s left is to save futaba for real now”

”after you..” morgana said as he waited to be teleported in 

”I guess it’s finally time”

ren pulled out his phone and the two began to fade into the metaverse

* * *

_**Futaba’s palace** _

the groups good there awaiting for ren and morgana to show up

the world started to quake around them

”what’s happening?” mishima asked frightened to what’s happening

”it’s time guys” ren appeared behind the group with mona by his side

“joker! did you send it?”

”sent, received and read now let’s hurry and get this over with!”

ren ran forward past the group

”right!” everyone said as they followed ren inside the pyramid

”hold on futaba...we’re coming..” ren said as he ran up the stairs

” **you don’t feel this pressure? it’s like someone’s trying to force us down** ”

” _it’s not something major so let’s continue_ ”

“ **I hope** ”

they reached the end of the stairs and saw the sign and the yellow tape disappear

“alright guys let’s head in!” ren smirked as he saw that her cognition changed

the group headed 

it seemed to be an elevator of some sorts as there was a limestone button with an arrow pointed upwards engraved into it

ren hit the buttons and they started to go upwards

once they reached their destination they looked around them to see computers screen and flying computer code fly all over the place

”so this is what a hacker’s palace looks like” ryuji was astonished to see the scenery

”yeah..but anyways let’s not waste time and let’s hurry” ren ordered

the group followed ren as he rushed upwards to where another door was

there were some shadows in the way but the group quickly cleared them without any issue

they eventually made it to the highest point

”so...this is it” ren looked to the group as they all seemed ready for what was about to happen

”so we seem to be here again” yusuke looked at ren confidently as he knew ren was going to try to make sure they are all clear with what is about to happen

“I’m just saying guys this battle is going to different from the others we’ve been through” ren has a feeling that whatever was behind the door wouldn’t let them leave

”in what way?” mishima still didn’t understand what was the big fuss was about

”I’m just saying keep on your toes at all times and don’t slouch for a second, we may not be able to come back if you do” ren warned

”we’re right behind you joker!” haru had no regrets for the mission as long as they saved futaba

”don’t worry futaba-chan we’ll save you” ann said optimistically

”then here goes nothing”

ren opened the door and the group walked inside

it was a small room with the floor being bright green computer motherboards and CPUs with the walls still being made of limestone

”is this really what her treasure room looks like?” ryuji was disappointed to see this as her treasure room

”what were you expecting money or gold” yusuke didn’t understand why ryuji was upset

”you’re an idiot ryuji not everyone has the same mind as you” morgana insulted ryuji as usual even though he was sniffing around for the treasure

”well I didn’t think it was gonna be this easy, I think you guys were over exaggerating” mishima said calmly 

mishima walked over to the giant coffin that was in front of them

”well then I guess I have to open it then we take the treasure, right?” mishima asked as he looked back at the group

some rumbling could be heard outside

” **ren! this is the pressure I was talking about** ”

” _oh no then if this is Futaba’s cognition then..don’t tell me_ ”

the ceiling began to collapse near the group but not close enough to hit them directly

the bright sun shined through the hole that fell down

”hmm?” mishima walked under the hole

mishima looked up to the a giant eye peek through the hole

”AHH! w-w-whats that!?”

mishima was spooked and he fell backwards as a result trying to crawl his way back to the group before anything else happened

”fuuuuutaaaaaabaaaaa!!!”

the creature screamed as it started to swipe at their small room which revealed it was a giant winged Sphinx swiping its paws at them destroying all the surrounding walls and showing them to the bright hot sun

it flapped it’s giant wings and the wind it created blew at the group nearly made them lose their balance

“holy shit what is that!?!?” mishima was scared and horrified as he cling onto the floor in case he would be blown off

morgana could barely cling onto the floor so he wouldn’t fall off

”Wait this beast seems familiar” haru couldn’t make out what is was as she tried to keep her balance

”that’s not futaba that’s for sure” ryuji was on the floor also clinging onto it so he wouldn’t fly off

”that’s her mom?” shiho was shocked to see her mom as the giant sphinx that was attacking them

”it’s her cognition! it’s a monster that she created!” morgana yelled as he struggled to keep still

”how is that possible?” ryuji was confused at how someone cognition would create something like this

”if someone’s cognition is strong enough they could have monster be the palace boss instead of the owner themselves and in this case futaba’s cognition made her mother this evil beast” morgana tried to explain why they were fighting a giant sphinx and not a pharaoh

”I can’t believe this bullshit I thought it was supposed to be easy!” ryuji screamed

the sphinx stopped flapping its wings and started to fly about

”you mustn’t go and try to open the pharaoh’s tomb! if you do it’ll bring great misfortune to you!” the sphinx screeched

”we can’t hit it with our weapons so use your personas and your guns” ren advised to the group

”but my pistol is also a shotgun!” mishima didn’t know how to exactly hit it when his kit was so close quarter oriented

”we don’t have time for your arguing admin!” shiho planted herself on the ground and steadied her aim

”fox your gun is good at long range, use it!” ren barked orders to yusuke

”got it!”

yusuke also took out his burst rifle and both shiho and yusuke shot at the sphinx

the sphinx screamed as the bullets were connecting and it flew towards the group in retaliation and slammed its paw right at shiho and yusuke who couldn’t dodge in time so they took the attack in it’s full force

they both were slammed on the ground and they couldn’t get up

”noir! panther! go and heal those two!” ren yelled as he gave covering fire with his pistol as the Sphinx was now in range

”right!”

both haru and ann ran over and started to heal

”don’t think you’ll be able to get away with that!” the sphinx flew towards the four and was about to swipe them off the pyramid

”SHIKI-OUJI!”

ren stepped in front of them and took the attack which did not damage due to his personas resistance to any physical or gun attacks

the sphinx didn’t let up on its attacks as it kept swiping at ren who was trying desperately to hold his ground and he was starting to let up as he couldn’t keep up

”everyone this is your chance to attack it!”

ryuji, mishima and makoto heard ren’s order and they started to attack the sphinx with their melee weapons and personas

they got nice clean hits on the sphinx

the sphinx readied its paw as it was about to swipe down on the four

”eat this!”

morgana jumped off of ren’s shoulders and started to shoot his slingshot at the sphinx’s eyes which caused the sphinx to block her eyes with her paws

the four that were laying onslaught of attacks below her had to back up as the sphinx flapped it wings and tried to disorientate the group

ren took out his pistol and started to fire away at the sphinx

he switched personas back to arsene and he shot heavy curse spells at the sphinx

the sphinx screamed and backed up and it flew to all the way up into the air

”where’d it go?” ryuji asked it under confusion as the sphinx was now nowhere in sight

”I can’t tell when it’s going to attack so we have to rely on instinct” mona couldn’t see to how far it was flying

” _im gonna use my third eye_ ”

” **wait ren that might be an issue if it’s all the way in the air like that** ”

” _not unless I use all my energy and concentration_ ”

ren poured all of his energy and focus into his third eye so he could see the sphinx all the way above them still flying

”guys we have time! heal up and build your defenses” ren yelled

ren barked his order and everyone did just that, either healing themselves or building up their defenses

ren kept a very close eye as the sphinx has stopped flying upwards

he then saw it shoot downwards as it rushed down towards the group like a bullet

”guys! brace for impact!” ren yelled

everyone held their guard up waiting for it to attack

the sphinx flew down and strikes the group with a great amount of force knocking everyone back and down into the floor

everyone slowly got back up except for ren who wasn’t healed or had his defenses up

it didn’t help that the third eye took a toll on him and it made ren sluggish

”noir energy drink me!” ren said as he slowly stood back up

”here!”

noir tossed ren an energy drink and he opened his drink with one hand and chugged all of it

” _shit, one misstep and I would’ve died_ ”

” **be on your toes ren you can’t let futaba down** ”

* * *

_**Futaba’s room** _

whilst the group were fighting the sphinx futaba stayed in the really world sitting on her chair as she looked at the red eye app that was on her phone

”so this app can take me to my heart?” futaba was curious

she inspected the app and saw three boxes show up

”vocal input? I guess I have to say what the places are”

”f- f-utaba sakura”

HIT

”then it was...sojiro sakura’s house”

HIT

”and the what I thought of this house..” futaba tried to remember what that was

”what was it...what was it”

futaba felt that her head was starting to hurt

“no! not again”

_”murderer!”_

_”you scum”_

_”don’t come near me!”_

_”you killed her!”_

_”what a terrible child”_

futaba ran out of her room and back into her hallway as she tried to run from the voices

“wait i remember this now...back when they were here they asked me what I thought of this house and I messaged tomb..”

HIT, SECURING ROUTE TO DESTINATION

”I can go in..?” futaba looked at her phone and she was one button click away to going into her palace

before futaba could click yes the voices returned to her

_”how could you!?”_

_“you monster!”_

_”murderer!”_

_”you’re a stain on this world”_

_”how could you kill your own mother!?”_

”stop!...please! futaba covered her ears in pain as she didn’t want to hear the voices anymore

”i can’t take this anymore!” futaba pressed the button out of desperation

BEGINNING NAVIGATION

futaba exited the real world and into her palace

she appeared into her palace and she stepped around confused

”where am I?”

she looked around and it all seemed so familiar to her

”so this is what my heart looks like from the inside...”

she saw an opened door and she started to wander closer to it

before she could get close enough a giant screen fell down

the image was the business men holding a letter to futaba whilst she was crying

”do you remember this..?” 

futaba’s shadow appeared next to her

“yeah...this is the suicide note that those men in suits read to me saying that my mom did it because of me..”

“correct, now what’s the next one”

another screen fell down but it showed futaba’s mom jumping into traffic and onto a car

”this...is my mother’s suicide..”

”now the next one...”

another screen fell down and it showed futaba tugging at her mother’s shirt to get her attention

”no....I-I can’t!”

futaba fell down and was averting her eyes from the canvas

”you can...think of why he came to free you..”

”he...ren...he came to help free me...fine I’ll look at it”

futaba had the confidence to stand back up and looked back at the screen

”this is when I complained to mom and she scolded me...and then she killed her self because of me” tears started to stream from her eyes

”that’s not what happened..look deep within you past the lies and find what truly happened”

”t-this is when I asked my mom to take me on a family trip..but she said no and she scolded me”

”there was more in that conversation...don’t attempt to sully the truth”

futaba tried to remember the real conversation and not what she believed happened

”she...told me she was busy and that she couldn’t right now and that she was rushing to finish her work..”

”and what did you do afterwards..”

”I threw a tantrum and screamed about how I thought she prioritized her work over me and hens he scolded me”

”that wasn’t all of it there was one part left that your mother spoke of...look within you..”

”I...I..remember..I remember now!” futaba looked to her shadow with her new revelation “I remember she told me that ’after I’m finished with my work we can go wherever you want to go, I’m sorry futaba but this research is very important to me and you have to understand, I have to finish it even if it’ll cost me my life’..”

”do you see it now?” her shadow asked

”she..wasn’t mad at me..?”

futaba looked back at the painting and saw her mother was smiling at her

”she was smiling...NRGH” futaba crouched down and held her head as she was in pain trying to figure out what was real and what was her imagination

”your memory is..”

her shadow disappeared and futaba’s headache went away

”huh?”

”fuuuutaaaabaaaa!!!”

screaming could be heard through the door as it came from above

”it’s calling me? I have to go!”

futaba ran towards the door that led outside

* * *

_**Meanwhile the fight was still going on** _

the group was panting and trying to keep themselves together

the fight had still been going on but nothing was happening

the group continued their onslaught of spells and shooting but the sphinx wasn’t going down or wasn’t taken any severe damage

”this..thing isn’t going down..what the hell!” ryuji didn’t understand how the sphinx wasn’t taking any damage

ren readied another heavy curse spell

” **ren you’re using too much energy** ”

” _but only my spells are putting some dents into that thing_ ”

” **I’m just saying you’re starting to run low and you might collapse if you keeping going on like this** ” arsene noticed how hard ren was breathing 

footsteps were heard behind them

they looked behind to see futaba look at the group

”futaba!?” the group were understandably confused

”futaba I told you not to come here? wait how did you come here!?” ren asked as he was confused to how futaba had access to the metanav 

”I used the app that was on my phone..”

”dammit..you can’t be here you have to leave!” ren yelled

”but I can’t leave you alone like this!” futaba wanted to help in some way

futaba tried to walk forward towards the group but some ghostly figures surrounded her

” _it’s all your fault”_

_”I should’ve never had you futaba look at all the trouble you’ve caused for your mother..”_

_”are you going to speak or just stand there!?”_

futaba held her head as the voices kept betraying her

”it’s my fault..it’s all my fault my mom is dead” futaba started to fall to the floor

”that’s right!” the sphinx monster started to screech at her and the group “it’s all your fault that I’m dead! you killed me! you were just a demon who was hindering my work I was so close to releasing one of the most revolutionary discoveries of the century and yet you came along and ruined all of that for me! I should’ve never had you you were just a disgrace that deserves to die! NOW TAKE WHAT YOU DESERVE!!”

the sphinx swiped her paw at futaba

but before she could everyone sprang forward and used their weapons to tried to parry her attack

the maneuver was successful and her paw slammed a bit away from futaba but the group bounced off and were scattered about on the ground 

“it’s my fault...it’s my fault...” futaba kept muttering to herself as she began to give up

although the sphinx’s attack missed futaba it did hit the ground next to a standing pillar of limestone that slowly leaned towards futaba’s direction

it started to collapse right where futaba stood

”futaba look out!” makoto screamed at futaba trying to reach her before the pillar fell down

futaba looked up but she froze as she saw the pillar fall towards her

all she could do at that moment was close her eyes and brace for impact

”futaba!!!” the group screamed as the pillar was near inches from hitting futaba

but before it could futaba was shoved out of the way

the pillar crashed onto the ground and futaba was knocked onto the ground a few feet from where the pillar crashed

futaba coughed as some of the dust that came from the impact got into her mouth

she was saved but she didn’t know by who or what

”joker!!” ann screamed out

futaba looked to ann who looked horrified and shocked and then she looked back to the crashed pillar and saw..

”ARGHHH...DAMNIT!..”

ren seemed to have thrown himself into futaba and shoved her out of the way but he himself wasn’t able to avoid in time and now he was screaming in agony as the pillar sat on top of his spine

”ren!!” futaba called out his name and ran towards him trying to get him out from under the pillar

tears were starting to fly out of her eyes

she crouched down to ren and looked at him not knowing what to do about this

”ren! i’m sorry!”

”it’s...ok...as long as you’re ok..” ren was in complete agony and pain as the pillar had crashed directly onto his spine and the combination of low energy and the pillar being on top of him was starting to make him lose consciousness but even so he still kept up the same smile

”joker!”

ann was about to run towards ren

”I’m fine! just make sure that the monster doesn’t attack futaba..” futaba groaned out orders

”ren it’s all my fault I’m...I’m so sorry!” more tears began to fall out of her eyes

futaba took ren’s hand

”now do you see what happens when you associate with her!” the sphinx started to screech once more at the group “she is just a plague to this earth and she should die for all the pain and trouble she’s caused to everyone”

futaba’s tears kept streaming from her face as she stared at ren who was barely staying awake

”it’s all my fault, I’m just a burden to everyone” futaba’s began to lose hope in ever being free from this curse

”shut your damn mouth already!”

ren started to scream at her as he fought tk stay alive 

”it’s not your fault that she’s dead dammit! what happened didn’t have anything to do with you! it was all a lie!”

”but I pushed her..” futaba said quietly

”no you didn’t! she was murdered by someone else! that suicide note was fake! you understand right? fake!” ren tried to get through the pain as he kept yelling at futaba

“but those guys they showed me the note and my mother said-“

”your mother said nothing! you really believe the note those agents gave you was real!? It was fake they only did it so they could get access to your mother’s research!”

ren knew what really happened to futaba’s mother but he couldn’t tell it to futaba all out but he could at least persuade her to realize the truth

”ren...i..” futaba tried to grasp at what she wanted to say

”wake up futaba...wake up..realize what you are...”

ren laid his head down on the ground as he was starting to black out

” **stay awake ren..stay awake** ”

ren tried to stay awake but his eyes gave away and they began to close as ren started to succumb to the pain 

”ren...”

futaba’s shadow then appeared behind her ”you see what he’s been trying to show you”

”the note was a lie...everything I’ve been told about my mother is a lie I didn’t kill her...I was lied to..” futaba still held ren’s hand as he hands tightened out of frustration

”you were deceived and used as a scapegoat for them to lay the blame of her death onto”

”those rotten adults I’ll never forgive them I can’t forgive them...for killing my mom..for giving me these thoughts..for giving me this palace...and forcing me to see people risk their lives for me...”

”get angry futaba..let out all your inner rage out..”

futaba stood back up her hands balled up into a fist

”I won’t let you down ren..” futaba said as she set her eyes onto the Sphinx

futaba held her head in pain but she didn’t care about it as she still stared at the Sphinx 

” **what denies you is an illusion that was implanted into you by the heartless** ”

” **you knew the truth from the beginning, yet you cowered in fear and ran away from it all** ”

”that’s right...I was blindsided by those adults who used me..and I-“

”it’s all your fault! it’s all your fault! You should’ve died!” the sphinx kept screeching 

“ **will you die as you have been told or will you stand up and listen to your heart and seek the truth that lies within you and not anyone else** ”

”i won’t be lied to any longer, I won’t be led astray by other people’s voices either, I’m my own person with my own voice and I’m gonna trust my own voice from now on!” she pointed at the sphinx “you’re not my mom! you’re just a creation of what those adults put into my head...it’s all because of them that’s we’re in this situation and I’ll...and I’ll NEVER FORGIVE THEM!!”

futaba had a light shine from her and her shadow appeared out of her

the bright light consumed her and everyone stared at her in shock

“holy shit!” ryuji was nearly blinded by the light

”what’s happening?” ann couldn’t see through the light

”is she awakening?” morgana was almost knocked back

once the light faded away futaba stood up with a giant ufo hovering above her

”woah!” haru was amazed to see a giant ufo

”that’s her persona?” mishima didn’t know what to think after seeing this

the ufo sprouted tentacles and it wrapped itself around futaba and started to bring her up into the ufo

”uhh guys?” futaba didn’t understand what was going on

the ufo swallowed futaba and put her into the pilot’s seat

she saw all the computer like features the inside had to offer

” **contract..I am thou, thou art i..** ”

the screens started to glow bright green

”woah!”

” **the forbidden wisdom shall be revealed** ”

“ **no illusions shall deceive you any further** ”

seemed entering the ufo also changed futaba’s clothing into a black skintight suit with green highlights resembling a computer chip covering her body

”oh now this is something!” futaba likes this new look

“futaba?” makoto called her name from the outside

”I’m ok!” futaba’s voice called from inside the ufo

”nice...” ren stayed conscious long enough to see and hear the awakening 

”if this is my palace than hacking should be easy as eating cake!”

futaba clicked a button and the pillar that laid on top of ren vanished

“ann! go and heal ren before he blacks out!”

”o-on it!”

ann rushed towards ren who flipped to his back

she placed ren’s head in her lap while her persona healed ren

”ann...”

”you reckless idiot...” ann held ren’s head in her hands

”sorry I may have overdid it”

”at least you looked cool doing it..”

ren chuckled “thanks..”

ann smiled at ren and then looked to the rest of the group

”I’ll take care of joker and have him recover before he fights again!” ann said aloud tot he group

”and I’ll give you guys the chance to take down that monster”

futaba pressed some more buttons and summoned a ballista

”someone get on the ballista and fire it at the monster then we can beat the crap out of it!” futaba was already getting the hang of her persona even though she awakened just a minute ago

”a ballista!? oh hell yeah! I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life!”

ryuji eagerly got into the ballista and started to aim it at the sphinx

”I need you guys to cover my ass while I ready this thing!”

”already on it!”

shiho readied her rifle and she shot at the sphinx

the sphinx screech in pain and flew towards the group

”it’s coming in hot!”

”don’t worry I got this thing ready!”

”wait for my signal ryuji!” futaba was calculated when ryuji should fire the ballista

”haru! fire your grenade launcher right into her left wing!”

”right!” haru followed her order and shot a grenade into her left wing which put her in the right spot for ryuji to fire the ballista

”ryuji now!”

”fire away!!”

ryuji fired the ballista and it was a direct hit straight in the sphinx’s abdomen

the sphinx fell over and rested on the pyramid

”nows our chance everyone attack it with all you got!” makoto got her persona out and layered an entire nuclear onslaught on the sphinx

”about time I get to use this! marshal!” mishima summoned his persona and attacked the sphinx with some of his most strong physical skills while he shot at it with his shotgun pistol

”hiyahh!!” haru slammed her axe into the monster’s head

yusuke and shiho synchronized their spells into one combined bless and ice attack directly onto the sphinx’s head

”special delivery!” morgana has jumped into the air and turned into a van just to slam his body right against the sphinx

the sphinx recovered and started to scream in agony

it seemed the combined force of their attacks knocked the sphinx off of the pyramid and back into the air except this time it visibly looked damaged as it was flying more sluggishly

”you damn brats!!”

the sphinx flew into the air

”oh shoot, ok we have time you guys, heal up before she strikes”

everyone had taken some medicine and drinks from haru and they started to use them on themselves as quickly as possible

everyone felt their defenses raise up as futaba raised their defenses from inside her ufo

”hey futaba!” ren called her name from the ground 

“yeah?”

ren was limping but he could manage

”how many ballistas can you summon?”

”i don’t know? as many as you need”

”summon three of them I have an idea!”

ren stood back up after ann finished healing him

”are you sure you can stand?” ann was still worried for ren as he took some massive blows and she wasn’t sure her healing would be enough

”of course I’m energized thanks to you now then it’s time for the leader to get back to business”

futaba summoned three ballistas in front of ren

”wait ren who’s gonna man them?” ryuji asked in confusion as he held his hand as firing the ballista took a bit of power to use

”I will”

”three at once!?”

”not three an once” ren summoned arsene and another persona “but we’ll do it one at a time”

”oohhh ren you can use two personas?” futaba was intrigued by ren’s ability to use more than one persona at once

”yep! and it’s useful when in dire situations like this”

” **I have to do manual labor**   **huh** “

” _suck it up arsene this is important_ ”

” **fine..but only this once** ”

ren and his two personas readied their ballistas as they aimed into the air

ren used his third eye to see the sphinx still fly upwards

”everyone! take this time to boost your attack, I’m feeling this is gonna be the big finale!”

everyone took the time to boost their attack stats while ren still aimed the ballistas

he then saw the sphinx fly downwards towards them right where ren wanted her to be

”...FIRE!!!”

ren and his personas fired all three of his ballistas straight into the air directly in the path of the sphinx all of them hitting directly at her chest

the sphinx screamed as it slowly made its descent down onto the group

”everyone on me!”

ren jumped over the ballistas and regroup with everyone else

”everyone unleash all of your attacks onto the sphinx and then we’ll finish it with one collective attack right onto it!”

”right!”

everyone nodded as they readied their weapons to strike as soon as the sphinx fell onto their platform

”all out attack!!”

everyone started to strike the sphinx all at once with the monster taking heavy damage with each of their strikes that were boosted which doubled their power

once their strikes were finished they all gathered together in a single line formation

”everyone..”

everyone readied their most strongest spells

”aim...”

ren readied two personas to strike one giant heavy curse spell while  everyone aimed their spells

”I should have never birthed you....FUTABA!!!” the sphinx groaned one last line before the group fired

”whatever you say to me now is pointless because I..will..live!!”

”fire!!!”

everyone shot out their spells and it all went into one collective beam that struck onto the sphinx

the amount of damage it caused was too much for the sphinx to bear

once the spells went away the sphinx screamed in pain as it finally went down

it lost it’s grip on the pyramid and fell down onto the ground sliding off of the pyramid in the process

once the battle finished futaba’s persona started to dissipate and futaba gently fell to the ground

“holy hell you’re badass!” ryuji was impressed by futaba

“that was amazing! I never thought I’d see something so cool!” mishima was mesmerized to see futaba awaken like that

futaba stood up and looked at the new outfit she acquired

”ooh! it’s skin tight!”

ren patted her head

”it’s good to know you’re safe”

”t-thanks..” futaba didn’t mind the reward

”futaba...”

a light had shined through in front of the group

futaba looked to see what it was

”m-mom!?”

it seemed her mother had appeared through the light but this time she wasn’t in some hideous sphinx form or had a distorted voice to make her hateful for futaba

she was a bit transparent but she could still be seen by the entire group

”thank you for realizing the real me..futaba”

futaba tried to walk over to hug her mom

”don’t come any closer futaba..”

”but mom..”

”are you being selfish again?” she asked

”..s-sorry I guess I am being selfish again...but I want you to know...I love you”

“I love you too futaba...and I have to thank you phantom thieves for saving my daughter and helping her remember the real me”

she bowed and then looked back up

”..it wasn’t your fault..I forgive you..”

she looked directly at ren with that last comment

she disappeared back into the light

ren stood there confused

” _did...did she forgive me..?_ ”

” **now you know what she thought of you** ”

” _then she knew what happened?_ ”

” **but she forgave you, probably for saving her daughters life** ”

ren felt the weight in his heart lift up

” _it feels nice...why?”_

” **now you don’t have to worry about what her thoughts were, she most likely know what happened and she forgives you** ”

” _guess I don’t have to worry about it_ ”

” **wait you’ve been worrying about it?** ”

” _no..._ ”

futaba stretched her arms after wiping the tears off of her eyes “alright I’m gonna go home...I’ll deal with medjed after..”

futaba walked off and exited the metaverse

”she left..” ann said as she looked to where she had left the palace

”she was so sentimental and sincere earlier and now she’s not...some mood change” shiho said

”she really does move to the best of her own drum” yusuke sighed

”at least we now have her on our side...oh before we forget someone grab her treasure” makoto reminded the group about her treasure

”ooh! I’ll get it!” mishima eagerly walked over to the coffin

he looked inside to find nothing

”it’s empty!?” mishima was disappointed he couldn’t get the treasure

”well I guess it’s very soft and heartwarming to hear don’t you think? the treasure to such a dreary and desolate palace is futaba when she finally realized the truth of it all” haru saw the deeper meaning from it all and it felt right and poetic to see it so clearly

”that’s so sweet haru, but I feel like we’re forgetting something” shiho tried to think of what was missing

all of a sudden The pyramid starting to shake vigorously and violently

”what’s happening!?” mishima looked around confused at why the palace was shaking

”the palace is starting to collapse! not only did the owner step into the palace but she awakened a persona this place could collapse any second!” morgana started to panic

”then we should go! we saved futaba there isn’t any thing else we need”

”that would be very wise of us to do” yusuke said as he saw the pyramid started to break down in front of him

”then stop yapping and start running before our gooses get crushed!” ryuji started to run down the pyramid with everyone else following suit

the pyramid started to fall apart and decay right as the group started to run down the pyramid walls

”it’s catching up to us!” yusuke screamed

”my legs are going to snap!” mishima wasn’t used to running like this

”running here is a bitch!” ryuji was already exhausted

”stop complaining and run!” ren was trying to keep up as he was starting to fall behind due to his back still being injured

”mona turn into a van already!” ann screamed at morgana

”I’m trying to don’t rush me-“

ann couldn’t handle it and she grabbed morgana by one of his ears

she picked him up and threw him into the air

”MREWOOHHHHH!!” morgana screamed as he was flung into the air

whilst in the air morgana transformed into a van and crashed down onto the ground having his back doors open with a safe cushion waiting for them down below

the group got knocked into the van as the trail of destruction caught up with them and the force propelled them into the van

once they all got shot into the van the doors closed and makoto who was able to get into the front seat drove off before the destruction caught up with them

everyone was knocked into their seats

ann crashed in the passenger seat while ren barely hung on to the girl’s seat, both mishima and ryuji had their faces on the floor and ryuji had his butt in the air while the rest of them were fumbled into the back of the van unable to sit up because of the way they fell onto eachother

”queen, punch it!” ren said as he tried to regain his balance

makoto stepped on the gas and they drove off as they avoided the falling and crumbling buildings as they escaped the ghost town

which each swerve that makoto did to avoid the crumbling buildings knocked over anyone that wasn’t already sitting

but it didn’t really matter as makoto was about to drive the van out of the metaverse

NOW LEAVING, THANK YOU FOR YOUR HARD WORK

everyone screamed as they escaped futaba’s palace and exited the metaverse reverting back to their original forms in the process


	71. Save it for later

Everyone screamed as they fell out of the metaverse

they all hit the ground as they spawned in front of leblanc

”ow my back” ren landed right onto his back which still had the effects of the limestone pillar falling onto him

”w-w-w-w-we lived??” mishima stood up looked all around him frantically as he didn’t expect to live so he checked to see if there was anything wrong with him

”dude that fall was worse than when yusuke went into madarame’s palace” ryuji stood up and cracked his back so relieve the pain what he got when he landed on the ground

everyone else stood up and they all seemed unharmed

”what’s with all the noise out here?...oh it’s you kids..what’re you doing out here?” sojiro stepped out of the cafe to hear what all of the ruckus was about as the group and made a big splash when they reappeared back into the real world

“oh yeah where’s futaba..?” ryuji asked without considering the fact sojiro was right there to hear him

”futaba? what about her..?” sojiro scratched his head in confusion as he didn’t understand why ryuji brought her up

“oh...futaba haha that’s the name of the cook that served us food at haru’s apartment ain’t that right..?” makoto had to think of something quick as she didn’t want sojiro to get the wrong idea from ryuji

”oh yes indeed I’m glad we came here though I want to get some coffee and where else than here..” haru’s went along with makoto as she understood where she wanted to take the conversation

”that’s fine..but..”

”but I’m not thirsty” yusuke didn’t catch the hint

makoto gave him a soft punch in the gut

”oh what a joke yusuke!” makoto wanted to try to give yusuke the hint before she really had to put it into him

”but I wasn’t joking?”

”hahaha” makoto revved up her arm and then slammed her fist in to the side of yusuke’s stomach “what a joke! yusuke” makoto didn’t sound as sarcastic as she punched yusuke straight into the gut

yusuke immediately folded over groaning while everyone looked in shocked by how hard makoto punched him

”w-well you guys go on ahead I have to discuss some school matters with ren”

”wait school!?”

makoto started to shove him along “now now ren behave or else I’ll have to make sure you do it myself”

”nooooo...”

makoto and ren left the group’s sights while they watched on as makoto dragged ren by his shirt collar

Sojiro yelled out as he saw ren being dragged by makoto ”remember kid I have your father’s number I can always call him to deal with you whenever I feel you are being a nuisance!”

although he believed that he did something in school he was unaware that they were going to his house

”but why would school matter it’s summer vacati-“ yusuke tried to speak again but he was jabbed in the stomach but it was by haru this time

although she didn’t show it haru had a mean jab but she soon regretted hitting yusuke as he dropped to his knees groaning from haru’s jab as she over estimated her strength ”oh! I’m sorry!”

seemed haru had some ridiculous strength and it showed as yusuke was groaning as he held his side trying to go through the pain

“learn to take a hint” shiho sighed then grabbed yusuke by his shirt collar ”let’s go before anything else happens”

shiho dragged yusuke in the shop while the rest of the gang followed with an obviously and understandably perplexed sojiro going in last behind the group

meanwhile makoto and ren were walking towards sojiro’s house

”ren..do you think the heart change worked?”

”yeah of course it did the heart change never fails but I’m just wondering how futaba is handling her heart being taken”

ren was worried after all a shut in like futaba should be experiencing a whole rush of emotions as she probably never had so many emotions and feelings running towards her at once

they walked over to sojiro’s house and saw the gate was wide open along with the door to enter into sojiro’s house was slightly open

”ren...it worked...right?”

”yeah...but that’s not what I’m worried about..”

ren didn’t even do a double take when he opened the door to sojiro’s house but he soon started to panic as he saw futaba sprawled on the floor

she looked lifeless and dead

”oh shit futaba!” ren slid over to where futaba laid and checked her pulse and heartbeat

”oh my god futaba!” makoto also crouched down to where ren sat down and checked to see if futaba was breathing “futaba can you hear us? say sometbing!”

futaba gave no response

”she's breathing and her heart is beating...”

”ren..you don’t think she’s dead right?”

”no way! there’s no conceivable way she would be dead we didn’t do anything to cause this in the real world”

”then what should we do?”

”I want you to go to phone the doctor from the clinic thats near here while I put futaba in her bed”

”ok I’ll do just that”

ren picked up futaba and walked to her room gently as to not do anything that may harm her

makoto phoned the doctor while ren set down futaba in her room

”15 minutes!? can’t you come here any faster?...6? ok!”

makoto put her phone away and entered futaba’s room where she saw ren sit next to futaba while she laid on her bed

”she should be ok...right?”

”I hope so...”

”but aren’t you the expert when it comes to this sort of stuff?”

well yeah but this is the first time I’ve seen something like this..I don’t even know what is happening with her..”

this was true as ren hadn’t see something like before and it was his first time seeing someone collapse after having their heart change besides having a mental breakdown

it was nothing like what ren has experienced before and it was strange seeing it but he hoped for the better and not the worse

* * *

_**inside the cafe** _

meanwhile both makoto and ren were waiting for takemi the group was in the cafe

ryuji was sipping a juice box sojiro gave him while the rest of the group sat at the counter with ryuji as sojiro served them coffee

ryuji crushed his juice box then gave a breath of joy after he finished it

”phew that was good!”

”you sound like a child” shiho critiqued ryuji as she sipped on her coffee

shiho sat next to ryuji and was appalled to see him enjoy his juice box like a small kid 

“come on shiho don’t be so harsh on him it’s not his fault ryuji’s tongue can’t handle anything that isn’t sweet” mishima tried to help ryuji out as after all it’s apart of the bro code and a bro has to help out their fellow bro

”doesn’t excuse the fact you can’t drink coffee or at least try to get used to it”

”oh?? wanna bet?”

”like you can drink coffee without saying how bitter it is, that bet is mine!”

both ryuji and shiho were starting to get competitive while the others watched on

sojiro laughed as he looked on the two argue about coffee “oh kids and their competitive tendencies”

“how about this ryuji if you can prove you can handle coffee I’ll treat you to some ramen but if you can’t I guess it’s a big parfait for me”

”deal!”

”then let’s shake on it!”

shiho held out her hand for a handshake and ryuji held out his so that they could finalize their bet

”if all I have to do is drink some coffee then all I have to do is..” ryuji gazed shiho’s cup of coffee and swiped it from her while she looking at him smugly expecting him to forfeit from the thought of drinking bitter coffee

shiho watched as ryuji drank all of her coffee in one big gulp and she was understandably upset by this as she was waiting quite a bit for her coffee

”ryuji you dick! that was mine!”

once ryuji finished her coffee he put down the cup on the counter but wasn’t disgusted by the bitterness he was more confused by the taste of it

”does your tongue change over a few months or does this coffee taste different? because it was way too sweet for my taste..”

”of course not I put sugar in it!”

”what?? that’s cheating then!”

”what do you mean that’s cheating!?

”your coffee wasn’t bitter at all! I could drink  something that sugary! how many cubes did you put?”

”only 20”

ryuji looked at her shocked and angry that she could even speak to ryuji about bitter coffee when she put more sugar that what some juices have

”only 20!? that’s enough to be counted as a soda!”

”and so what? I can drink coffee and you can’t!”

”that’s cheating!”

”is not!”

”is to!”

the bickering between the two ended up being  itching more than childish squabble while the spectators looked on a bit annoyed that they had to deal with this

* * *

_**Futaba’s room** _

dr takemi came in and was examining futaba and checking to see how she was doing

she examined all of her vitals and then checked to see her breathing with her stethoscope

the two teens stood behind her worried for futaba and her condition

”you know a house call is going to cost you” takemi sounded sarcastic as she stared at the two teens

”that’s fine I’ll pay for it” ren took immediate responsibility for the situation

”that was a joke but I appreciate your generosity, however you are paying me with other things”

”r-right...” ren hopes takemi wouldn’t try to give him a super strong medicine that may make him pass out

”anyways doctor..what is her condition?”

”she’s perfectly fine, her pulse, breathing, temperature and blood pressure are all normal and stable, no ocular abnormalities either. but for some reason she’s in a light stupor and she lacks muscle for her age i doubt she has enough stamina to exercise”

”so awakening must’ve taken all it could out of her..” makoto mumbled under her breath so that only ren could hear her

”must be too many abnormal occurrences for her body to handle” morgana stuck his head out of ren’s bag

”morgana where were you?” ren questioned the cat

”resting up of course my body isn’t as sturdy and have as much stamina as yours”

”anyways I’ll be taking my leave, call me again if anything goes bad with her you seem to be quite on edge about her condition”

takemi left while the two teens stood there

”we should contact boss about this he’d want to know all about futaba’s condition and we shouldn’t keep him in the dark after all futaba is his daughter”

”but wouldn’t he be mad at us? for you know...breaking into his house again”

”I think this is more important than us breaking into his house”

”you’re right, let’s go get him”

* * *

”are you two done yet? you’ve been bickering about coffee for 10 minutes now” yusuke was quite irritated that both shiho and ryuji were bickering over something as minuscule as the taste and handling of bitter coffee

”i don’t know...shiho are we?” ryuji sounded smug as he knew he had one up on shiho

”ok? I’ll prove it to you right now that I can drink black coffee!” shiho couldn’t lose to ryuji as it wasn’t in her best interests

”alright then boss hit us with two cups of coffee, and make em extra black”

”I’m not going to if you keep bickering like small children”

”come on boss! you were competitive in your young days right?”

”that has nothing to do with it-“

*RING*

the group looked over to the front door to see makoto and ren out of breath as they ran over  from sojiro’s house to the cafe as fast as they could

”oh you two, what’s up we’re you finished with your business? and what’s with that expression of yours?” sojiro was awfully confused by the two’s sudden entry

”futaba...she’s...” ren was completely out of breath and he couldn’t finish his sentence 

“futaba is what?..”

”futaba...is....sick...” makoto had to finish ren’s sentence for him

”she’s sick?”

”yes!” both of them screamed at the same time

”what do you mean she’s sick?” sojiro was still confused by the two

”just come with us”

the two exited the store again while the group stood there confused

”come on let’s go” ann got off of her stool and exited the store

the rest of the group and sojiro also left the store as they walked behind ann to sojiro’s house

once they turned the corner they saw the gate to sojiro’s house wide opened with the door inside only halfway opened

”those kids! couldn’t they leave my gate how it was at least!” sojiro hated that his gate was wide open

“let’s just go inside and see futaba”

the group went inside to see the light in futaba’s room on and both ren and makoto standing in her doorway waiting for the group to enter in

sojiro warped past the two and he stood next to futaba who laid in her bed

he crouched on one knee as lightly tapped futaba on the cheek

”futaba..heyyy!”

futaba didn’t give a response

”ohh boy...”

the group all looked gloomy as it seemed futaba was unwell

they tried so hard to save futaba only to get this as a result as it seemed like their efforts were useless to save futaba after all

ren was the most effected by this as he felt responsible fo leaving futaba like this and he felt obligated to save her just for it to go up in flames

ann held ren’s hand and gave him a soft look of sorrow as after all she sympathized with ren about how badly they wanted to save futaba but it wasn’t just to deal with medjed but genuine empathy for her and what had happened to her

sojiro stood up and sighed and then faced the group who all had worried expressions plastered all over them

”why do you guys look like that?”

”it’s about futaba’s condition”

”oh this? it happens every once in a while”

the group had a huge look of surprise all over their faces

”h-huh!?” ryuji was the one to break the silence between the group

”she must’ve used all of her energy, it happens sometimes like she’s a battery that dies and needs recharging probably because she spends her days cooped in this room and not exercising outside”

ren fell to his knees laughing “so she’s just sleeping huh....” he slouched his head down as he didn’t believe he worried over nothing and futaba was fine

haru giggled and crouched down to pat ren’s back to comfort him “I understand how you feel”

sojiro scratched the back of his head while he stared at ren confused

”well I don’t know what you’re getting all frustrated for but she stays like this for a day or two, anyways can you kids do me a favor and keep an eye on her I’m gonna go and close up shop unless either you or haru would like to run it for my in my stead?”

”I’ll run the shop for you just look after it for a bit longer and I’ll be there soon” haru took care of business while sojiro chuckled

”alright then you kids can hang out here for a bit longer and I’ll get set up for my leave”

sojiro left and went back to leblanc leaving the groups to pull themselves together from the mini heart attack they had mainly ren who was still on his knees and in a mini depression

ryuji scratched his head while he looked visibly distraught “I can’t believe I nearly felt my heart leave my body just for boss to tell me she’s sleeping”

”yeah it’s quite a rush to feel and I really don’t know how to feel about anything of what just happened” yusuke shook his head

”I think we’re all in the same boat” makoto looked to ren who was being comforted by ann and haru while his mind was still trying to recover from the ordeal

”wait but what about medjed we need to deal with them!” morgana had to remind the group about their impending doom

”mrgh...medjed...” futaba opened her eyes slightly “..I’ll deal with them tomorrow...or the day after....tired sleep now” futaba flopped to her side and then immediately went back to sleep

seemed she had no energy left to even converse with the group and decided the best course of action was to sleep and leave medjed on the back burners

”wait don’t go back to sleep!” ryuji wanted to get futaba to wake up but she didn’t even budge an inch after ryuji yelled at her

”she fell asleep again...now what do we do?” mishima looked to the others for an answer

”we can’t find another hacker to help us stop medjed in time so I guess we have to wait until she wakes up” makoto sighed

”at least we have a full week and half until we have to deal with medjed so I guess we can rest for a bit” 

“good idea ryuji we do have time and since futaba did awaken we can formally make her a phantom thief” morgana jumped onto futaba’s bed as poked at her cheek softly

”then let’s leave for now and worry about this later..” ryuji left her room “later! I’m gonna go help my mom out with stuff”

ren stood up “yeah let’s break up for now and we’ll figure out the next step tomorrow”

the group split up going their separate ways mostly besides a couple who stuck around

* * *

_**leblanc** _

“anyways haru I trust you’ll be able to run the shop for me?”

”boss we’ve been through this quite a few times I believe I can handle myself”

”just making sure, I don’t want anything and to happen since ren isn’t supervising...by the way where is that kid?”

”upstairs with ann”

”ahh I see...nice” sojiro chuckled “anyways I’ll be taking my leave”

”take care!”

sojiro left the cafe leaving haru by herself running the cafe

meanwhile upstairs ann was looking around ren’s room while he stood by watching

”there’s a lot of stuff I didn’t see the last time I came here”

ann was snooping around boxes full of clothes and other junk ren had lying around

”ann why’re you looking around so intently for?”

”just wondering if you had any medical supplies here that’s what”

”wait why are you looking for medical supplies?”

ann stood up after looking at another box full of junk and walked up to ren

”because you’re out of it aren’t you?”

”out of it?...or if what exactly?”

ann pouted at she put her finger in ren’s chest “you out of energy aren’t you and you can’t be ok especially with that pillar falling right onto your spine, metaverse healing or not you should be out of it. I’m surprised you haven’t collapsed yet”

”I guess you’re right but can you do me a favor and take care of me for the time being?”

”uhh sure as long as you rest and don’t push yourself” ann giggled

”thanks...and sorry about this...” ren fell forward directly into ann’s arms and luckily ann was able to catch him without stumbling off balance

”ren..?”

”sorry but my back is killing me and it’s hard to walk” ren whispered into ann’s ear

”that’s alright but let me handle it okay? you big goof~”

”thanks...ann”

ann dragged ren’s body to his bed and ren fell like a rock onto it

”do you need me to get anything?”

”can you go to the clinic and get something help this pain?”

”sure but...you and that doctor haven’t done anything right?”

”no...”

”are you sure...”

ren couldn’t stand his pain any longer so he might as well confess to some of it

”I do tests for her medicine in exchange for cheaper medicine for our missions”

”that’s it?”

”yes...now please go I can’t stand this pain any longer, my back feels like it’s gonna snap”

”sure just sit tight!”

ann jogged downstairs and to the clinic while ren laid on his bed

” **I knew that pillar did way more than what could handle** ”

” _arsene it’s not a matter of if I could take it, I just wanted to make sure futaba was okay before I started to worry about myself_ ”

” **you suck at listening you know that, you worry about others more than yourself and it’s starting to cost you** ”

” _you're right about that but haven’t we had this conversation about me worrying about others before?_ ”

” **you’re not slithering your way out of this one I’ve told you too many time to not push yourself and how many times have you pushed yourself?** ”

” _3 times are least_ ”

” **bullshit that’s only in tokyo and it was way more than just three** ”

”hey ren!”

morgana jumped onto his bed so he could speak face to face

”what’s up”

”I was wondering about how you obtained the metanav?”

”how I got it?”

”well yeah because I feel as if you and I are connected in some way”

”connected?”

”yeah like our fates are intertwined because it seems to me that our meeting was more than just a chance happening”

”well it is kinda strange that a cat got the ability to go in and out of the metaverse”

”but I’m not a cat!”

ren reached over and scratched morgana’s head “yeah yeah” ren scratched behind his ears which made him purr loudly “anyways go downstairs I got some fatty tuna for you in the fridge so ask haru to go fetch it”

”wait fatty tuna!?” morgana didn’t even hesitate when he jumped off of his bed and scuttled downstairs “THANK YOU YOU’RE THE BEST OWNER!”

ren laughed as laid his head back down waiting for ann

he yawned and then closed his eyes for a bit

* * *

”he has a lot of scars on his back...do you know why’s that?”

”the metaverse merely helps you heal wounds but if you were to be severely cut like this then maybe scars like this could form or it could be from heavy training and body conditioning” morgana was explaining to ann about how wounds in the metaverse work

”so ren really has worked hard for the past two years..”

ren was barely awake but he didn’t feel like getting up all the way as someone sat on top of him

he felt someones hands rub something cold and oily onto his back under his shirt

”if only he didn’t sleep and this would make it easier but I can’t really ask him all too much”

”he did burn himself up in that fight”

ren opened his eyes and tried to sit up only to be pushed back down

”don’t move I haven’t put the pain relief cream on you fully”

”oh...ann you got it?”

”yep the doctor said this was the strongest one and it helps you heal as well apparently but it’s also experimental and there’s no side effects”

”no side effects? from that clinic? I don’t buy it”

”anyways don’t move I haven’t applied all of it to your back yet”

”sure...wait you’re putting it on?”

ren was flustered as he could feel ann’s hands press onto him

”of course who else would do it?”

”well I didn’t think you would-OWOWOWOW”

ann accidentally pressed too hard directly onto the exact spot where the pillar fell onto his spine

”oh! I’m sorry I didn’t think that was where it hurt the most, does it hurt?”

”yep...and I think that was directly in the middle of it too” ren was teaching over his shoulder and trying to find the spot where it hurt the most 

”well then I’ll be sure to not put as much pressure, but can you take off your shirt so I can apply it easier”

”sure...”

ren reluctantly sat up and took off his shirt

ann could see that ren was flustered to do so and she giggled

”I thought you were supposed to be the cool and collective one...”ann put her hands on his shoulders and whispered into his ear “where’d all that bravado I love so much go?”

ren could feel her voice enter his ear and it made the hairs in his neck stand up

he blushed ever more and he turned to face ann who had a huge grin as she was able to tease ren this time and not the other way around

seemed she finally had an advantage over ren

”why don’t you lay down and I’ll get back to treating you~”

the way she said it made ren blush a bit more but he listened and laid back down on his bed

ann giggled and kept applying the pain relief cream onto his back but she made sure she wasn’t pressing down on his back too deep

after she was done she went and got a bandage wrap she also got from the clinic

”hey ren can you sit up? the doctor told me to wrap this around you body so you don’t accidentally put too much strain into your back”

ren sat up and saw the pack of it I’m Ann’s hands 

“sure”

”ok!”

ann took out the pack and started to wrap it around ren’s chest and stomach

whilst in the middle of bandaging ren’s ribs ren looked to her

”say ann...I was wondering if you’re happy..with me as your boyfriend...”

”hmm? what makes you say that?”

”well I’m not sure of it myself...but I feel as if I’m not as open as you’d want me to be...and i feel as if I'm not at all like the dependable guy you’d want to be with in a relationship...after all I’m not honest with you guys...it took me months before I told you about what happened with kasumi...I’m not even sure if I’m honest with myself as I can’t get over the fact she’s dead...”

ann listened to ren and thought about it but she already knew her answer

she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek

”even though you aren’t honest about what happened I don’t mind it at all, I mean I haven’t told anyone about what happened with kamoshida only what was on the surface level was out and I wasn’t even named as one of the victims that was abused by him but don’t ever think of yourself as not being dependable on”

ann held ren’s face and ren did to same to ann’s

”all of us care for you a lot as you’re the reason we’re able to fight and help others, you’ve sacrificed so much for people you’ve only met for a day, the man I fell in love with is a strong person who cares for those around him and tries to help everyone as much as he can...that’s who I fell in love with...a dependable, caring, kind and strong individual”

”ann..I-“

”shhh...” ann put a finger on ren’s lips “let’s not talk now...”

the two leaned forward and embraced eachother into a deep kiss

”hey guys I was wondering you wanted come downstairs and eat something together I prepared a-“

haru walked upstairs and saw both ann and ren in an intense make out session

she didn’t want to disrupt them so instead she pulled out her phone and snapped a quick picture

”I’ll definitely be sending this to shiho”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy thanksgiving y’all! hope you had a nice time with family members or friends


	72. Medjed bites the dust/Where the plan truly starts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now it’s time we go in depth with this and not beat around the bush with subtle hints and nods

ren walked downstairs and saw sojiro having a quick smoke break

”you know smoking isn’t good for you”

”you sound like your father”

ren laughed as he walked over and sat on one of the stools in front of sojiro ”please telling me your lying”

”I wish I could”

sojiro burned out his cigarette into a small ashtray that he placed down onto the counter

sojiro sighed “hey kid you think that futaba could recover from her emotional trauma?”

”it takes time for someone to heal from emotional trauma, but it all depends on one thing”

”and what would that be?”

”acceptance” ren have a sigh while sojiro poured him a cup of coffee

”acceptance? acceptance of what?”

”what happened in the past...you can never get over what happened without accepting it as reality...I think that’s the first step to realizing what happened”

”you’re really insightful on this topic”

”I just know stuff”

ren took another of his coffee and stood up as he was going to go out again until the door swung open

a calm futaba walked past ren and onto a stool nonchalantly

she stared at ren’s half empty cup of coffee and took a quick sip

”hmmm blue mountain...nice taste but kinda lukewarm”

“futaba you’re ok?” sojiro was astonished to see futaba out

”yep! up and ready!”

”so then I see...how did you get here?”

”I walked? like how everyone else does”

”but you were..never mind I’m glad you’re out”

”I am too it’s like I just felt like walking which I haven’t done in a while”

”well I’m gonna run the shop if you want to go somewhere I guess go with the boy he seems like he can protect you”

“ok!” futaba whispered into ren’s ear “hey ren wanna see me destroy an entire hacker association”

”sure..?”

”then let’s go”

futaba grabbed his arm and they walked over back to sojiro’s house

* * *

_**futaba’s room** _

”watch and observe...I’m about to destroy an entire hacker association”

ren sat on her bed while futaba started to clack away at her keyboard

”so then ren how shall we do it?”

“utter annihilation! leave no trace of them” morgana stuck his head out of ren’s bag and wanted a very violent request for futaba to do

morgana jumped down onto her bed sitting right next to ren

”ok!” futaba turned back around to start destroying medjed but she turned right back around “ren the cat talked???”

”of course I can talk? you saw me in the metaverse”

”this is a dream right? if so that means I can go to sleep”

”nonononono you can’t go to sleep! ren say something!”

morgana looked to ren for some reasoning so that futaba wouldn’t go to bed

”meow?” and ren took it as a joke and wanted to mess around and scare futaba

which worked as futaba looked like she was about to cry from all of these odd anomalies 

”ren!”

”fine fine, morgana a special cat who helps us with our metaverse missions as he has access to his own persona”

”was he that small cat doll I saw in the metaverse?”

”yep, for some reason that’s his form”

”c-cool....” futaba was still slightly shaken up by this but she kept clicking away at her keyboard

nearly an hour passed and futaba was still clicking away at her keyboard

”hey futaba are you making some good progress?”

futaba only giggled to herself as she kept typing hastily

”futaba?”

she wasn’t responding to either ren or morgana’s attempt to grab her attention

”seems she isn’t responding to us..”

”yeah she’s too entranced in her hacker work to pay attention to us”

ren tried to get closer to her but he accidentally stepped onto a pice of paper

”jeez this room is a mess”

”let’s clean it up I doubt futaba will respond to us”

” **oh look! she’s has a book about me how cute** ”

” _can it arsene_ ”

* * *

both morgana and ren spent another few hours cleaning futaba’s mess of a room

they picked up all of her papers and other assortment of trash from around her room

they spent the rest of their evening doing that while futaba kept clicking away at her keyboard

after the two finished their cleaning and they sat back down onto futaba’s bed as they awaited for her to finally finish

but she didn’t

”well we picked up all of her papers and trash what else it there to do?”

”mop the floor..”

morgana groaned “greeeeaaat”

”don’t complain you’re not the one doing all the work”

”whatever just get the dang broom and mop already..”

ren and morgana got back to cleaning but this time they scrubbed her floor and made sure they got all around to make sure the room was spotless

eventually the room reflected their faces and it felt brand new

they looked up to see if futaba was done but it seemed she was nowhere near being done

”she’s not even done!?” ren was worn out from cleaning and he couldn’t believe futaba wasn’t done

”alright I’m hitting the hay”

morgana jumped onto the bed and slept away

ren sighed as he sat next to morgana “guess I’ll join you”

ren and morgana dozed off while futaba was still clicking away

the time passed and futaba was still clicking away while futaba and ren slept

futaba slid a little back in her chair and stretched her arms in the air while yelling “I’m done!”

this surprised the two who were a little startled by futaba’s sudden burst of joy from her chair as they may have dozed off in the middle of it

”you finished? like for real this time?

”yep! and as a thank you we cleaned your room”

”my room..?” futaba looked around to see her new spotless room that seemed completely different from her cluttered mess that she was so used to “woahh! I dealt with a mess and someone dealt with my mess”

”yep, and you’re welcome and thanks for helping us with medjed”

”well I’m glad I helped you out but right now I’m too tired right now so I’m gonna go to sleep”

futaba grabbed a pillow she had on top of her computer and she slept away at her desk almost immediately

ren sighed as he stood up and pick futaba up from her chair and placed her in her bed

even though she was asleep she grabbed on to ren’s shirt and didn’t want to let go which was odd but it made ren smile

seemed futaba trusted ren

”mmm...mm....” futaba was mumbling in her sleep

”thank you for the hard work”

futaba let go and landed in her bed as she was starting to drift away into her deep slumber

ren took off her glasses and her headphones and placed them on her nightstand

”nighty night”

ren and morgana left her room and walked out of sojiro’s house

”why put the extra effort?” morgana was confused my ren’s actions

”I dunno, she reminded me of my little sister so i thought it was suitable for me to do so”

”well good idea regardless”

“thanks”

* * *

_**Cafe somewhere in Shibuya** _

[sources say that the medjed threat has been dealt with a week and a half earlier than what everyone was expecting to happen seemed the elitist hacker group medjed has fallen and one member has been fully exposed as he ring leader and they’ve been apprehended]

akechi sipped on his coffee as he looked at the news

he was in a small cafe at a table by himself

”so he not only did it but he did it a week early than expected”

akechi he looked back down to his phone as he received a call

”impressive...I never expected someone to desperately cling onto their own beliefs like this”

akechi finished drinking his coffee and he left the money he owed on the table and left with his briefcase  
he stepped outside and took the call

”what’s up”

[so I’m guessing you’ve also seen the news]

”yep, those thieves have really fallen for the bait”

[what about that hacker?]

”he’ll be arrested it’ll look good for the police if they took him in and not leave him off the hook”

[so then is this how the plan is supposed to go?]

”yep...after all it was only a bluff medjed wasn’t going to go through with it”

[well it was a nice bluff indeed and it was generous of those hackers to accept our offer and try to lure them out]

”of course it was i was the one to instigate that attack”

[you instigated it?]

the person on the other side of the line was confused, they knew very little about akechi’s plan besides what was obvious, akechi used medjed to lure out the thieves and make them popular but they didn’t how complex and deep it truly was

”yeah who knew they were so gullible and hungry for power that they’d fall for a bait as simple as that”

[so what was it that you did to get the hackers to oblige?]

”gave them the access to all the banks in Tokyo and others parts of japan and then out the idea in their head to take down the thieves”

[intricate and devious but did the board approve this? if it failed it would’ve came back and bitten you in the ass hard]

”Shido approved it through and through, he’s on board with my plan as it’ll be...how would you say it? taking out three birds with one stone”

[isn't that saying only two birds with one stone?]

akechi smiled “that’s because the plan has only just begun”

[anyways, i didn’t call you to congratulate on your ‘plan’ I called you to inform you that that thing you wanted is nearly finished and is ready for testing]

”as long as it can do what my intended effects are...it’ll be fine”

[well it still needs testing before you can fully utilize it]

”that’s fine I don’t need to be perfect just stronger than the one you made for us three years ago”

[back when you and him were on the same team?]

”I wouldn’t say on the same team but more of I had him on my side, but yes stronger than that”

[if it’s fine with you, may I ask why you’re making a pristine scientist like me create such a heinous object]

”like I said before...my plan has only just begun and I’ll need that for later”

[whatever you say but can I ask one more thing?]

”what’s that?”

[why don’t you strike him now?]

”he has allies and I wish to see him die right in front of their eyes or if the plan fails, have them turn on him for his crimes”

[what? that doesn’t make sense though how would he-]

“it’s a complicated process doc and I have a plan b, anyways I’m gonna hang up there’s a car crash scheduled soon and I need to be there to make sure my target is dead”

[sure....good luck with your work]

akechi hung up and walked down the road where some screaming could be heard as an accident seemed to have happened

”just in time...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I’ve placed all of my cards down right where I want them and we’ll be set for what’s to come...  
> After some beach chapters of course


	73. Futaba vs the world

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now let’s see how futaba goes with the rest of the group

it was morning time and ren was sitting at a booth with futaba sitting across from him

futaba looked nervous and anxious as she sat there her knees against her chest as she waited

sojiro was behind the counter as he was serving the two breakfast

“futaba...you alright..?” ren saw futaba was sweating a lot 

”y-yeah...” futaba stuttered

futaba was silently twiddling her thumbs as she was nervous and scared of today

”what’s got you nervous?”

”I....I’m not nervous!” futaba attempted to assure ren but she ended up stuttering again

futaba was shaking nervously

”at least let us help you try to get out into the world” ren smiled

”maybe I should just stay in my room...” futaba was already throwing in the towel

”come on futaba you can’t be like this”

”but I don’t know if I can do it...” futaba was too scared to try something as big as what ren had planned for her

”listen we’ll do it one step at a time, first you meet the gang and then we’ll move on to other things” ren tried to calm down the shaky futaba

”f-fine....but after breakfast” 

ren laughed and he reached over the table to pat futaba’s head

”after breakfast is fine”

“good...” futaba didn’t mind being pat on the head

after a bit more waiting sojiro came by with breakfast

usually he’d serve curry as ren ate it nearly everyday

but for today he’d serve omurice to the two of them which surprised him because curry was one of sojiro’s fortés

”well eat up kids, you’ll need it since the others are coming here” sojiro said as he wiped down some cups

”thanks sojiro” futaba took a fork and started to eat the omurice “it’s pretty good..” futaba wasn’t too impressed as she knew sojiro could do better but she liked it regardless

ren eyed her as she was eating pretty fast and stuffed her mouth with more food than she could swallow

”slow down there you’re not gonna die if you don’t eat your food”

”mmrgh...mmrgh!!” futaba tried to speak but her mouth was completely stuffed

”eat before you start to speak..”

futaba headed ren’s words and swallowed the mouthful of food she was chewing on

”but it’s good!” futaba said cheerfully

”well just don’t eat so fast or you might accidentally choke on it”

”ok!”

ren and futaba ate their breakfast and then stared at the tv

ren got some notifications from his phone

[Ry: YO ren! we’re coming in right now]

[Re: coming in where?]

[A: to the cafe silly we’re here to help futaba open up to the world]

[H: I think we shall assist you after all futaba is a new member and a fellow friend which means we have to help her]

[Re: appreciate the help]

[Re: so when are you coming in?]

[Ma: in a few minutes]

[Mi: we also got snacks as well]

[Re: guess I’ll prepare on my end]

ren put his phone away and saw futaba looking at sojiro who was working

”hey ren” futaba asked

”yeah what’s up?”

”can you make coffee just like sojiro? I mean you have been working at this cafe right?” futaba wanted to know how well ren could compare to sojiro

”yeah from time to time although he keeps saying my coffee doesn’t match his” ren said as sojiro’s coffee did laps around ren’s own coffee brewing skill

ren sighed as he thought about all the comments the customers would give him about his coffee not being as good as sojiro’s

”it’s ok ren as long as you work hard you can do anything!” futaba cheered up ren

”I guess you’re right” ren smiled once more

*RING*

the door rang and the group entered the cafe and walked inside

ren stood up and greeted the group with a wave and a smile

”so wheres futaba?” ann smiled back at ren while she walked forward to greet the small orange haired girl as she saw her slightly peeked over her seat

but before she could futaba jumped out of her booth seat and grabbed ahold of ren as she was using his back as a shield to hide her face from the group

”futaba...?”

every time ann stepped forward futaba grabbed ren tighter and tighter and she would pull ren back farther and farther

”seems she's cautious of everyone” yusuke shook his head as this would be a problem they would have to deal with

”she’s been like that with anyone that’s not sojiro or ren” morgana stuck his head out and perched his front paws on ren’s shoulders

”but we can’t leave her like this” haru tried to think of a plan to get futaba to open up to the group

”can we just take this upstairs first I wouldn’t want futaba to get startled by any customer when they walk into the store” ren looked down to see futaba slightly peek out from his back to look at the group but she shook nervously and looked like she was about to cry any second

“let’s go upstairs right futaba?” ren have a reassuring smile to futaba

futaba silently nodded her head

ren chuckled and then patted her head as the two waddled their way upstairs

”they already look like siblings” mishima laughed at he stared at the two waddle their way like penguins upstairs

”well let’s follow them upstairs and try to figure out what to do then” makoto sighed as she felt like futaba would only interact with ren and not the others

the group went upstairs and sat at the table and futon while ren and futaba sat on ren’s bed

futaba sat with her face pressed in her knees as she felt comfortable enough to stare at the group which was a start rather than hiding behind ren and using him as a shield 

futaba looked away and she then eyed down a huge box full of ramen ren had bought a while ago

he had bought it at the convenience store for cheap as a power snack when he studied during the evening when he wasn’t working

futaba tugged on ren’s sleeve to grab his attention then pointed at ren’s stash of ramen

ren looked down at futaba who was tugging at his shirt and gave her a soft smile

”sure you can have some” ren said glowingly

futaba smiled then stood up from ren’s bed and happily walked over to the box of ramen while ren was getting a stove top to boil the water on

while this was happening the group stared at the two blankly

”he’s totally spoiling her” shiho had her arms crossed as she had a stared at the two

”definitely” yusuke nodded with shiho

”agreed” haru nodded as it was unfortunately true

”I want some of that ramen!” and ryuji was hungry as always and wanted some of ren’s stash

another minute passed and futaba was sitting on ren’s bed eating her nice hot ramen while ren sat next to her

”ren we came here to help futaba and all you’re doing is spoiling her” makoto tried to get ren to actually help and not spoil her

”I’m not spoiling her” ren looked at makoto with an offended look

futaba poked ren’s cheek with her spoon she was using to eat ramen with

ren looked at her to see her hold a spoon filled with noodles near his mouth

ren opened his mouth and ate the ramen that was on the spoon

”it’s good” ren playfully smiled down to futaba

futaba giggled and went back to eating her ramen

”you’re spoiling her ren” morgana looked over ren’s shoulder

”hey futaba can I have some?” ryuji gave futaba some puppy eyes

futaba simply turned away from ryuji which gave him the signal that she wasn’t willing to

”meanie!” ryuji pouted as he saw futaba continue to eat her ramen after ignoring him

”ryuji act your age!” morgana criticized ryuji from ren’s bag

futaba looked up to ren and saw morgana perching his front paws on ren’s shoulder and she hesitantly rubbed his head as she still didn’t believe about how morgana talked but she accepted it as reality, it’s not like she had another choice besides that

”by the way futaba we never asked but do you want to join us as a phantom thief?” makoto asked futaba

futaba looked at makoto

”kay....” futaba said quietly

the first word futaba spoke to the group was just kay

”so fast...” ann didn’t think she would speak 

”she didn’t even hesitate” yusuke noted 

”and are you sure about it? we do struggle in the metaverse” makoto glanced at ryuji “some more than others”

”sure....you’ll need some help and I mainly want to find out who killed my mom, I’ll make sure whoever it is will pay” futaba actually spoke words to the group which was a big surprise

”well I didn’t expect you to be so open about it” makoto added

”you already know about what I went through so what’s the big deal” futaba was outspoken 

futaba was right about that everyone in the group already knew about what futaba went through via her palace and sojiro

”hey futaba how were you able to hack medjed?” mishima was intrigued by the small girl’s ability to hack and destroy other hacker associations

”it was easy, i was the one who made medjed and the rest were just novices who claimed the medjed name” futaba said as she scooped some more ramen

”wait!? huh!?” the group all said in unison as it seemed futaba was the real medjed

”you were the real medjed!?” ryuji said confused

”yep, but the name kept getting taken by some amateur imposters so I took up my new name, it is now alibaba!” futaba said with a grin as she was proud to bestow herself with her new title

”were they the ones who were committing crimes?”

”yeah and I got too lazy to expose them one by one so I let em be”

”that’s sick!” ryuji was impressed by her accomplishments

”well anyways futaba can you at least try to talk to us more we really want to know you”

futaba glanced at mishima then glanced back at her ramen and kept eating

”how should we do this though? we need her to open up to us...wait I know!”

everyone looked over to makoto

”tell us mako-chan” haru said as she was eager to help futaba

”how about we each spend some time with futaba and let’s make it tomorrow we have enough time to do something to make her to open up to us, sounds good?”

futaba heard this and immediately started to panic

” _w-w-wait what!? y-y-you can’t do that!_ ” futaba nervously tried to argue with the group but she couldn’t muster enough courage to actually speak to the group

spending time with strangers was something she didn’t want on her list of things to do

“that sounds great! but why don’t we all go somewhere together, we haven’t done that since before we entered futaba’s palace, why don’t we go to the beach since it’s still summer” mishima said as he wanted to go on another group adventure

”oh! great idea ann and we get to finally go to a desert and not fight over water bottles” shiho liked the idea of relaxing at a beach and having fun instead of nearly dying in a pyramid

”then that means we have to buy some bikinis, I think I’ve grown a bit since last time we went for me to fit in mine” ann ‘grew’ and didn’t feel like her bikini would fit and she also wanted to get one ren would like

ren blushed as he thought about ann in a bikini

” _wait what did she mean by ‘grew’?_ ”

” **yeah of course she has to get a new one she has two reasons why..** ” arsene laughed while ren sat there dumbfounded

” _what do you mean!?!?_ ”

” **oh you’re too pure for this** ”

”that makes sense so why don’t we go shopping and since we’ll have futaba to ourselves we could buy her a bikini as well unless haru and makoto you’d want to accompany us in getting one” shiho asked their seniors

”let’s leave it to you two since you know so much about fashion” makoto let ann and shiho do all the shopping

”then that sounds good” ann nodded

”wait! don’t I get a say in this?” futaba was being ignored and it didn’t help she couldn’t make her voice loud enough

”don’t worry futaba we’ll get you a cute one!” ann said to futaba 

”huh!?!?!?!?!?” futaba was in complete shock by their sudden decision to go to the beach without even considering her emotions right now

“wait you two before we do that we have at least get futaba to get used to us....ok how about we set a time for when we do” ren wanted to make sure that she was at least comfortable with the group first

”you’re supposed to be on my side!?!?!” futaba tried to argue with ren about this

”then how about this makoto, yusuke and mishima you hang out with futaba for one day then ann, shiho and ryuji do it the next and lastly me and haru will go next” ren had an idea and everyone agreed to it

”wait!” futaba stood up and pointed at the group with an angry look on her face “how come I don’t get a say in this! how come i have to do this? and I don’t even get to talk to ren for comfort this is so stupid!” she then pointed to ren and gave him a mean spirited look “why are you last when you’re the only one I can truly talk to!”

the group looked to one another in shock from futaba’s outburst

”ok I get it, how about this I’ll accompany all of it instead of me only being there for the end”

”hey if you and haru are going to go last that means you’ll be in the cafe?”

”probably yes, the best sort of bonding is working side by side with one another and dealing with challenges together” haru sounded friendly with her approach

”oh! then can I also join too? I wanna be there when futaba is working as you know a test customer of someone she just talked to, that sounds good right?” I’ll see how you’ll do in the cafe

translation: I’m hungry and I want free food

”alright ryuji then that means it’s all settled and I think we’re done for today unless you three wish to start for today?” ren looked to the three who would start with futaba first

”we’re already here we might as well” yusuke didn’t like wasting time and he thought doing it now was more efficient

”I don’t think futaba is mentally ready for that let’s just do it tomorrow” makoto didn’t want futaba to breakdown 

“that works too” yusuke settled

everyone left leaving morgana, futaba and ren to themselves

”w-will I really be able to do this?” futaba didn’t believe in herself

”don’t worry I’ll be there every step of the way” ren assured

”I’d be pretty angry if you weren’t there at all” futaba then looked over to see morgana on the table

she walked up to him and started to grab at his cheeks

morgana didn’t like this and forced her hands off of his face

”don’t do that!”

“ok I’m gonna go prepare myself...wish me luck hehe” futaba sounded anxious and scared

futaba then slowly walked off but not before ren patted her head

”like I said I’ll be they’re to help you in any way I can” ren assures with a smile

”ok...”

futaba left the attic leaving ren and morgana to themselves

” **so....how big do you think they are?** ”

” _how big what are?_ ”

” **oh you know...her ‘bags’ if you catch my drift** ”

ren looked back at arsene with a flustered and angry look after reading what he was insinuating 

” _shut up!_ ”

morgana looked up to ren to see his face was a bright red and it looked like his head was steaming

”uhhh ren..you alright there?”

”p-perfectly fine! hehe..”

”then what’re we gonna do?”

”I’m gonna go exercise see you in a bit morgana!!”

ren retrieved his bag and ran off with it leaving morgana in the attic alone 

”wait what about me!?” morgana watched as ren ran off without him

”I’ll buy you some tuna when I get back!” ren yelled as he left the cafe

morgana could hear the jingle of the bell above the front door as ren rushed out the door with

”what’s with him?”

ren ran off to the gym for the rest of the evening while he tried to get those thoughts out of his head

* * *

_**the next day** _

makoto, yusuke, mishima and ren stood outside sojiro’s house as they awaited for futaba to open up

”futaba can you open the door?”

some buzzing came from each of their phones

[F: you’re here so soon!?!?]

now that futaba was apart of the group she was now apart got their group chat

[Ma: we’re here to help you with this as much as we can]

[Mi: so can you please open up?]

[F: open what?]

[Y: the front door]

[F: and what if I don’t want to?]

[Ma: ren will break the door down]

”why me?” ren said confused on why he was the scapegoat

[F: you play rough demon]

[Ma: now can you please it’s scorching out here and I’m starting to sweat so chop chop]

[F: >:( ]

some shuffling could be heard and the door freaked open 

“welcome...”

futaba opened the door fully and revealed herself to the group except...

for some odd reason she has some creepy female doll mask on her head that was at least  three times the size of her head and it looked totally ridiculous and absurd

”umm...futaba...what’s that?” mishima stared at futaba’s with a worried expression that laid behind a smile along with a confused and dumbfounded look

”what’s what?” futaba ignored mishima’s question

”I guess...let’s just carry on” makoto just accepted it

they followed futaba to her room and entered in

”I like the choice of mask you bought, very well constructed along with it’s avant garde design” yusuke complimented

”mwhehehe..” futaba laughed

”where’d you get it?” mishima was intrigued by her mask

”express delivery” futaba said

mishima was perplexed by her answer to his question

they followed futaba to her room and entered in

”so this her room? it’s quite clean” makoto expected the room of a shut in to be messy, dirty and cluttered from ceiling to floor but it looked normal and tidy

”that’s because we cleaned it” morgana stuck his head out of ren’s bed and jumped onto futaba’s bed “don’t discredit our hard work”

”you mean mainly MY work?” ren said as he was the one that cleaned up everything

”and I helped don’t forget about me!” morgana thought he had an important hand in it

”right...” ren said with sarcasm

”anyways we came here to help out futaba and not mess around with stuff” makoto wanted to try to help futaba as quickly as possible

futaba sat on her chair while makoto, mishima and ren stood behind her whilst futaba was swiveling in her chair

yusuke was messing with something but it wasn’t a notable thing for the group to take a note of

”so then what should we start with?” mishima wasn’t confident in his questions to truly ask

”well let’s start with some easy questions” makoto started

”as of expected from our student council president” ren complimented

”let’s starts with food seeing as you love food so much, which foods do you prefer futaba?” makoto started

”organic ones”

”that’s not what I meant by that” makoto was caught off guard by that answer

futaba laid her head on her knees while she yawned signaling to makoto that she was starting to get bored 

”well how about the weather? I heard the heatwave isn’t going anywhere else for the time being“

”i...haven’t checked outside” futaba didn’t see anything outside as her mask covered the sun

”oh....right” makoto was starting to get overwhelmed as it seemed none of the topics she was using were interesting to futaba

”then what’s your favorite show?” mishima had to come in and save the conversation before it truly went south

he used a simple question which seemed obvious to say as futaba had posters and figurines of certain anime around her room which kinda disappointed him because makoto didn’t realize she had an easy ticket to a conversation with futaba right in front of her eyes

futaba lifted her head up and it seemed like her eyes glowed

”Phoenix Ranger Featherman R!!” futaba did a little pose too as she said that

” _that got her excited_ ” everyone in the group thought

“is this your favorite anime?”

”mmhmm! mmhmm! I even got these cool action figures that are hard to find! they’re right here where..yusuke is.....what are you doing?” futaba looked at yusuke who was standing right in front of where futaba had her feather man action figures located

everyone forgot yusuke was even in her room as he was silent the entire time makoto and mishima were conversing with her

”yusuke what are you doing?” makoto looked at yusuke, confused as he seemed so focused on something”

”ah..superb” yusuke had finished what he was doing “voila”

yusuke moved out the way to reveal the figurines

originally the figurines were perfectly constructed in their colors of black, green, yellow, red and pink 

they were doing poses which they still were except..

they looked as if they were taken apart and smashed back together and none of them were one color but instead they were a mash and mess of colors stuck together and forced to be together and aligned

”AH!” futaba shot out from her chair so fast that the mask on her head bounced off and hit the floor revealing futaba’s mixed look of horror, shock, disbelief and anger all cultivated into one mood

”my....my children....what have you done...to my children” futaba hands shook slowly as they picked up one of the figures “pink....you were gone too soon...” a tear shed from futaba’s eyes

”they were very shoddily made, wish they were made with more care and better aesthetic”

futaba’s anger was boiling as she lightly muttered under her breath “this is all that stupid inari’s fault”

”Inari..?” yusuke was confused by what futaba called him

”in the metaverse your clothes resemble a fox and in Japanese folklore foxes like inarizushi, thus Inari”

”Inari....” yusuke stared at futaba while he took in his new nickname 

futaba held what used to be the pink ranger in her hand “of course you had to ruin their poses too they were in such perfect poses and then you came along and ruined them! you wouldn’t know aesthetic if it hit you in the face!”

yusuke immediately took offense to this insult as it insulted his artist pride and it made him mad to hear such provocative words come out of someone’s mouth towards him

”how dare you..to say that to me of all people!” house took great offense

”oh? you want me to say that again stupid Inari!?” futaba insulted yusuke

”you persist in insulting me even more because you can’t see the true art in what I made?” yusuke insulted futaba 

”that’s art!? that’s art!? that’s nothing but a mess you just made!” futaba screamed at yusuke

”now now” mishima tried to step in to calm the situation down “come on futaba I’m sure yusuke can fix it”

”shut it! SIDE CHARACTER!” futaba looked at mishima and immediately insulted him without giving him a second chance or mercy

mishima fell on to the ground his knees and hands keeping him up as his pride was mortally damaged

after being an outcast for most of his life it really put a lot of burden on him and calling him a side character was one of the one things he dreaded hearing

that and being called an NPC

at least futaba thought of him as a somewhat important person which was a plus, he was slightly relevant

makoto, ren and morgana stared onwards with blank expressions as it seemed their attempt to converse with futaba ended up boiling down to a full on argument between futaba and yusuke about how important those ranger figures were and how great they really are, and mishima was on the ground trying to regain his courage and confidence back in order to stand up and face futaba once more

* * *

after some more arguing the conversation between both futaba and yusuke cooled down to an agreement and they were conversing normally

”I see so the doll’s soft material allows it to freely move and do most poses similar to how our bodies stretch and contort...fascinating” yusuke proceeded to make the figure in his hand to balance on one leg which interested him

”yeah and you can make them do any cool action pose or dramatic scene you wish for them to do” futaba showed as she put the pink ranger into a different pose that made it look like it was flying

”what a truly peculiar and interesting toy that can double as a model for a creative reference” yusuke held it in the air for a better inspection

”now you’re understanding it” futaba nodded as she got through yusuke’s head about the action figures

while the two were conversing the three humans and the cat watched on as they seemed to be sucked into the their conversation

makoto sighed while she looked to ren for an answer ”was i using the wrong topic to start the conversation?”

”I think you were, it seems only topics that interest her will get her to talk” ren replies

”I’ll keep note of this, maybe I could use this on students if they come to me for help”  makoto used this as a learning tool

”mmhmm, not everything is as simple like instructions you’d give a robot” ren said bluntly

”what’s that suppose to mean?” makoto raised an eyebrow to ren as she was intrigued by his odd choice of words

”I’m just saying you kinda act like a...beep boop” ren sounded like a robot and even did the hand movements a robot would do

”I’ll hit you” makoto readied her fist showing that she wasn’t playing around with ren

ren laughed it off while morgana and mishima looked on in amazement

”you’re asking for it aren’t you?” makoto was still threatening ren because he was laughing at her

”you have nerves of steel” mishima looked at ren and wished to have the courage ren had

”anyways you three it seems futaba has had her first taste of a real conversation”

futaba looked at morgana and gave him a cheery look along with her pumping her fist in the air “if this is all I have to do them this’ll be easy peasy lemon squeezy!”

”well let’s try hanging out in someone else’s room or we could even try to go outside”

”don’t set the bar so high!” futaba cried 

”it’ll be fine we’re not going outside, we’re merely hanging out with shiho, ryuji and ann in the cafe do it should be fine”

”does that mean I can have more ramen?”

”sure just don’t eat too much” ren didn’t want his ramen supply to be filled down by futaba and her endless stomach

”then I’m in!” futaba said pumping her fist

”don’t bring the mask this time” 

”I wouldn’t count on that” 

the group split up and futaba and ren readied for their next encounter

* * *

_**leblanc - the next day** _

futaba sat at the table while she awaited for shiho, ann and ryuji to arrive

ren was behind the counter cleaning dishes

sojiro was currently out as ren told him that they were gonna try to get futaba to open herself up

once ren finished he took off his apron and sat on one of the stools

”so you ready for the rowdy ones to converse with you?” ren said jokingly

”I don’t think I could handle it” futaba could barely handle the last three so she had low expectations for the next encounter

*RING*

“eep!” the door rang and futaba ran to the staircase

the two blondes and shiho entered in with huge bags that they placed on the counter

”oh you guys came here...what’s with the bags?” ren questioned the huge grocery bags that they placed on the table

”sorry we were late but we thought the best course of action was to get some snacks for us to eat while we talk” ann happily took out a box of pocky and waved it around playfully

”snacks? this look like a buffet with how much you got” morgana looked inside the bags to see them cluttered and stuffed with random snacks

”you’ll get fat y’know” ryuji was blunt towards ann

”shut up!” ann shouted

”anyways, where’s futaba?” shiho couldn’t see futaba hiding behind ren

”welcome, you’ve done well in traveling inside here” futaba walked up to the group with the doll mask on her face

”w-whoa!” ryuji jumped back a little before regaining his composure “futaba is that you!?”

”sure is!” futaba exclaimed

the group stared at futaba awkwardly as she wore the giant doll head on her

kinda resembled a bobble head

” **where did she get the mask from? she didn’t come in here with it?** ” arsene didn’t understand

” _don’t question it_ ”

”why are you wearing that mask?” shiho questioned futaba as she was confused on why she was wearing it

”habit. anyways let’s go”

”uup uup uup” ren took off her mask “without the mask” 

”meanie!” futaba stuck her tongue out at ren

the group went upstairs and started to lay down all fo their snacks on ren’s table

ann and futaba sat on the futon while the others sat in chairs

they started to open their desired snack of choice and start munching 

”ok so when we were buying the snacks I heard some girls were talking about us, I think they might be into me” ryuji started off the conversation with

the group stared at ryuji with blank and empty expressions and they continued to munch on their snacks while giving him the same look

”what? it’s true I swear!” ryuji defended himself

”ryuji, if it’s you we’re talking about” ann paused to munch on another potato chip “you would never be a chick magnet”

”you have enough charm as a piece of dog poop” shiho insulted ryuji

”agreed, as a member of the opposite sex you have 0% charm on you” futaba fixed her glasses as she said that

”ren what about you? I have some charm to me, right?” ryuji looked to his best friend for help

”ryuji not to be mean since you’re my best friend but..I couldn’t tell that you had charm with a straight face without feeling bad for lying” ren said honestly

”aww come on ren you have to give me at least something!” ryuji couldn’t believe ren would chew him out like that

”I’ll give you slight pity, only slight however” ren said as he took another bite out of a chip ann gave him 

”yeah not to mention the fact popular guys usually don’t bragging about their charm to other people” morgana laid the last attack onto ryuji’s pride which was successful

but ryuji had one last shot to redeem himself

“that’s not true! ren you would’ve boasted about how tough and sleek you look right?”

”not really” ren lightly scratched his cheek as he tried remembering if he did ever boast how hot he was “I thought love was secondary as all I was focusing on was training and trying to take down palaces”

”wait you didn’t even try to hit on anyone!?” ryuji could not believe ren would waste his talents like that

”no, I never really cared about that stuff at least not entirely but I never pursued an intimate relationship, like I said love was secondary, well it was until now” ren couldn’t but laugh lightly with that last comment whilst blushing a little

ryuji has his mouth open and his jaw hanging out as ren wasn’t on his side at all

his best friend betraying him like this...a true defeat at this point

* * *

the conversation went on and it somehow led up to wedding dresses

”you know I was always wondering about getting married young” ann munched on a piece of pocky she opened after she finished her bag of chips “but don’t those dresses show a little too much skin?”

“they do if you pick a certain type of them, then they’ll show too much skin than what’s needed” shiho had her feet on the table as she kicked back and thought about wedding dresses

“I know and they’re...” ann looked down to ryuji to see his head down on the table as he was visibly bored “hey are you even listening?”

”what does it matter? none of us are getting married as none of us have significant others” he glanced to ren “besides ren I guess but even then what’s the point of it?”

”there is a huge point in marriage as it’s a big commitment and a huge step for one to take and you never know when I...” ren realized his slip up and he turned red “I mean it’s too young now but maybe a little later down the line..wait!”

”ren...” ann also turned red as she was flustered and didn’t know how to feel about marriage

the two looked like tomatoes as they sat there trying to recollect their thoughts

”I see ren, you’re the one that will be making the first step” shiho stuffed another chip in her mouth as she said that “pretty bold of you”

“you two are so cute” futaba snickered as she secretly took photos of the two to keep for later “so when will the wedding be?” futaba teased

”can I be the best man?” ryuji asked

”ok let’s move on to a new topic!” morgana wanted to move to another topic as he saw what was about to transpire

* * *

the conversation went on but once the snacks were basically gone and the group calmed down a little they decided to give a report on how futaba was doing

”I’m surprised I thought futaba would have trouble but she’s doing just fine” shiho gave a thumbs up to futaba

”yeah she’s pretty normal” ryuji have her a smile

”I don’t know what normal is, but if this is it then I’m happy!” futaba looked pleased with how well she did

”I don’t even think normal is a word when you look at all the stuff we did” ren rubbed the back of his head 

the group laughed with eachother

”anyways futaba you’re gonna help run the shop with ren and haru, right?” ryuji asked

”say what now?” futaba looked at ryuji in shock

“you’re gonna help me and haru run the shop during lunchtime” ren said

”what!? but that’s like super crushing hard difficulty! I can’t do that!” futaba panicked as she heard that she would help run the shop

”don’t worry you can operate in the kitchen and help haru make some cookies” ren said to futaba 

”cookies? I’m in” futaba was sold as soon as she heard that haru could make some cookies

” **nice you persuaded her with a delightful baked treat** ”

”so then I guess that’s the plan for tomorrow”

the group split up and futaba prepared for her final task in helping run the cafe along with ren and haru

* * *

**_leblanc - the next day_ **

“so you want me to let you two let futaba help you run the shop?” sojiro said with a shocked expression

sojiro stood there in disbelief as a week before futaba didn’t even leave her room once besides leaving for the bathroom and her know here she was being asked to help runt he cafe which includes complete strangers coming in and out

”indeed, don’t worry we won’t try to force her to do anything rash” haru was trying to reason sojiro

”you know this isn’t like taking care of a cat or baking cookies” sojiro tried to warn the two about the amount of effort they would have to deal with 

”we know and we’ll take full responsibility” ren said as he promised that nothing would happen

sojiro didn’t know how to feel about it so he looked to futaba to see it she was ready to take this big step

”futaba are you sure about this?” sojiro has to check with futaba to see if this was cool with her

”of course I graduated middle school last year, how hard can it truly be, if I just think of this as a summer job before high school I should be fine” futaba assures herself

”sure...well then let’s have you wash dishes first I wouldn’t want you to push yourself immediately” sojiro worried for how futaba would act in this type of situation “and may I also ask why you’re here?” sojiro looked past the three and looked to the booth seat behind them

”sup” ryuji was sitting in one of the seats and he was sipping on some juice he bought from a vending machine nearby

”and are you helping with her or are you here to freeload?”

”I’m not here to freeload I’m here to help”

”well you can help be practice when futaba tries to serve food”

”alright” ryuji didn’t mind that task

”anyways I guess you can start right now” sojiro scratched his head

the three put on their aprons and began working while ryuji and morgana who was in ren’s bag and was placed on the table looked on to the three working and both haru and ren hovering over futaba giving her instructions on how she should wash dishes and other tasks

”so she’s holding up good is she?” sojiro said as he smoked his cigarette while haru was the one to teach futaba

ren was standing next to him sipping on some coffee he made for himself

”yeah she’s doing fine” ren said confidently as she saw futaba wash some dishes with haru’s guidance

”e-eep!” immediately after saying that the sound of a glass cup breaking was heard where futaba was

she had accidentally knocked down a cup onto the floor and it had broken into several shards and pieces

ren and haru walked over to her

”futaba, are you ok?” ren said as he tried to see if her hand had any scratches on them

”o-oui!” futaba said yes in French

”oui?” ren said with confusion

before ren and haru could help futaba clean up the bell above the door rang

a customer who came to the cafe regularly stepped in

”hey boss give me the usual, extra strong” 

”coming right up” sojiro snuffed his cigarette away and he looked to haru and ren who were trying to help futaba “keep an eye on her you two, if you will”

”sure thing” haru nodded

the customer sat down while sojiro was making the coffee

”so your third part timer? getting a bit soft aren’t ya boss? and they’re all younger too” the customer teased

”it’s not like that and it’s because some of them need experience” sojiro looked over to the three “come on serve the coffee before it gets cold”

”my bad I’ll....” ren tried to look for where the coffee was “wheres the coffee?” he looked to haru who shrugged her shoulders as she had no clue who took it

they then realized futaba wasn’t by any of their sides anymore

”where did-“ ren couldn’t find the coffee

”aahhh!!” the customer screamed

ren and haru looked up to see the customer screaming as he was scared by futaba who had her doll mask on once again

she placed the cup on the table ”yo, here’s your coffee” futaba tried to act as natural as she could

seemed the doll mask scared the customer so much he pushed himself farther into his booth seat

” _why is she wearing the mask?_ ”

” **I think the real question you should be asking is WHERE did she get it!?** ”

”futaba, what did I tell you about wearing that damn mask and especially around customers and be a bit more polite when to serve customers” sojiro scolded futaba gently but just enough for her to get it through her head

”but first let’s take this thing off” ryuji walked over and took her mask off with a satisfying THOOMP sound

once ryuji took off her mask it revealed her bright red embarrassed face

”now try to say it politely” ren ordered

futaba looked to ryuji and quickly nodded before looking to the customer 

“h-h-here’s your order..sir” futaba couldn’t look at the customer directly in the face and she fidgeted with her hands

”thank you” the customer then began to sip his coffee

futaba nervously walked back to where haru and ren stood with ryuji following behind her

”see that wasn’t so bad” ryuji looked at futaba who was still trying to calm herself down

”my heart’s pounding” futaba said as she felt her heartbeat

”well you did good anyways futaba, I’m proud of you” ren gave futaba a warm smile and then proceeded to pat her head

”t-thanks”

the day continued on like that with futaba helping serve the customers food and she also acquired some tips on baking by haru as she demonstrated by making some cookies

* * *

once it was evening sojiro closed the shop and everyone went home

rem was upstairs in his attic and he sank into his bed and pulled out his phone to see some notifications from their thief chat as ryuji called it

[A: hey makoto or haru you want to help me and shiho try to find a bathing suit for futaba?]

[H: sure thing!]

[Ma: I’m down, I’ve been meaning to buy a new one]

[Ma: also is futaba coming with us?]

[A: no she can’t handle crowds, remember?]

[Ma: sometimes you need to take drastic measures in life]

[F: those words are so spiky]

[A: anyways I’ll see you tomorrow with your bathing suit futaba]

[F: ren help me]

[Re: nothing I can do here futaba]

[F: :( ]

ren closed his phone and headed to bed as he prepared for tomorrow

” **what kind of bathing suit do you think ann would get?** ”

” _arsene, I’m trying TO SLEEP!_ ”

” **aww come on ren you’re a growing boy you have to have thoughts like this** ”

” _I will put you in solitary confinement again_ ”

” **ok ok message received...but then again** ”

the night went on like that before ren finally was able to get some sleep after arsene gave up trying to get through him


	74. Beach trip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My bad guys I got busy this week and I didn’t have time to write
> 
> And I took too many naps in between

_**Velvet room** _

ren woke up in his prison jumpsuit and stood out of his bed

once he did he walked up to the jail door and looked at igor who seemed to be quite pleased with ren

”I’m impressed trickster not only have you managed to avoid one disaster but you avoided one of your biggest obstacles”

”you say that but there’s a bigger obstacle right? can you tell me what that is?”

”I do not contain such power to tell you about that, only fate can tell what’ll happen to you”

”great that doesn’t help me at all”

caroline hit the jail cell with her baton “don’t sass our master inmate!”

”right...” ren looked back up to igor “but can you at least tell me something about what might happen?”

”a storm is coming trickster...it’s best if you train ahead”

”sure...”

”that is all trickster, just remember I’m watching it all so keep up the pace”

”sure...but can I ask one more thing?”

”which is?”

”why did you choose me, for this contract?”

”you’ll find out soon enough”

”soon enough? it’s been three years could you tell me now?”

”don’t talk back inmate!” caroline slapped the cell again

ren groaned “guess there’s nothing else I need here” ren walked back to his bed and slept putting him back into the real world

”all of this will come to you soon trickster” igor said as he saw ren disappear

* * *

_**The real world** _

ren woke up back in his attic bed

it was morning time and he could hear the sounds of futaba and sojiro downstairs

”looks like they’re up too”

”yep and I can’t go downstairs because they’re cooking and futaba keeps pulling my cheeks” morgana jumped onto ren’s bed and pawed at his cheeks as futaba had been grabbing at them since this morning “also she left a message on your hand”

”my hand?” ren lifted his hand and saw something written in on the back of his palm

‘STUPID JERKFACE THIS IS YOUR FAULT >:p’ this was all the message said as futaba was pretty angry at ren for not helping her out and her revenge was to write on his hand

ren laughed as it was cute to see her first step of her plan to get back at ren

”this is adorable”

” **it is but don’t take it lightly, she’s a clever one** ”

ren got up and put on some clean clothes and headed downstairs

he saw futaba sitting in her chair while sojiro was working

futaba looked at him and gave him an angry scowl

”what’s wrong?”

”how come you didn’t defend me? I don’t think I’m ready to be out in crowds like that”

ren sighed as he sat next to futaba “if there’s something you should know about this group is that when the girls have their eyes on something, you either have to submit or if you’re bold enough and in ryuji’s case stupid enough you fight back”

”does that mean they have their eyes set on me?” futaba was startled at the thought

”yep”

futaba looked at ren and she looked like she was about to start panicking

”don’t worry it’s fine I don’t think they’ll come in until a little after” ren tried to call her down

a buzz came from ren’s phone

he got his phone and went to check what is was

[Ry: hey ren we’re stopping by leblanc soon, so heads up]

[Re: sure, is everyone else coming?]

[A: later us girls are doing something important]

[S: very important]

[Re: alright guess I’ll see you until then]

ren closed his phone and looked back to futaba

“well...” ren started

”well..?” futaba repeated

”the girls aren’t coming”

futaba had a huge shining smile on her face as she thought she’d escape peril and her eventual doom

”yet”

and there it was the big plot twist that shook futaba to her very core being

”at least the guys’ll be here soon” ren told her

futaba’s gloom couldn’t have gone any lower

after some more waiting the guys showed up and everyone piled up in the attic

”so futaba it’s been a couple days since you stepped out of your room, how’re you feeling about being out in the open?” ryuji was curious into how futaba’s training was going

”well I don’t know really, it’s kinda the same to me but it’s kinda nerve wracking” futaba told him

”at least you’re comfortable around us, that’s a start” mishima looked at it in a positive light

”that’s a good way to think about it, consider it progress” yusuke reinforces mishima’s thoughts

futaba looked to morgana and walked over to him and started to grab at his cheeks

”ack! don’t do that!” morgana shoved her hands out of his face

*RING*

”hello!” ann’s voice was heard downstairs

”sorry for our intrusion” followed by makoto’s voice

seemed the girls arrived back and started to make their way to the attic to meet with the boys

futaba started to shake nervously as she could feel the impending doom come towards her

the girls came upstairs with a shopping bag

”sorry we’re late we had to make sure the swimsuit was perfect” ann said as she happily waved the bag in the air

”s-swimsuit?” even saying the word made futaba shudder

”yeah you don’t have one, unless you do?” haru looked at futaba with a smile

”i don’t...have one” futaba tried to fight against it but haru was too sweet for her to lie straight in her face

”good, then we bought one for you” haru smiled

”y-y-y-you w-what” futaba could feel the girl’s eyes staring directly on her as she shuddered

”indeed we all helped out in finding one for futaba, and boys just so you know if any of you peek” makoto cracked her knuckles in an intimidating way as she glared at the boys “I don’t need to elaborate do I?”

”no ma’am” the obedient cat was the only one to speak up

the other boys were nervously nodding their heads as they didn’t want to know what would happen if they didn’t oblige or they might accidentally lose their heads

all the guys started to head downstairs

as ren tried to he was stopped by futaba who looked up to him and she seemed like she was about to breakdown

”take me with you..” futaba whimpered as she tugged in ren’s arm

ren considered it but then he looked up and saw the terrifying eyes the girls had on futaba as they awaited for ren to leave

ren took a deep breath and then looked at futaba “I’ll give you whatever you want!” while ren said that he ran downstairs leaving futaba by herself while the four women stalked her

she slowly turned around to face the four

”have mercy..” futaba whimpered as the four pounced on her and prevented her from escaping as they proceeded to try the swimsuit on her

* * *

ren sat downstairs with the other guys as they waited for the girls to finish

ren sighed as he sat down with the rest of the boys

not even two seconds after ren sat down there was a scream from the attic

the scream made all the guys slightly react and look over to the stairs

”incredible, ann you were right this does suit her well I didn’t expect for it to fit so well” makoto’s voice could be heard from downstairs 

“leave to me when it comes to fashion” ann sounded proud that she was able to eye down the right swimsuit “now let’s just push this here a little more this way”

”push..?” ryuji asked curious to what that insinuated

”gyah! why are you touching them!” futaba yelps were loud and clear

”touch...” mishima said as he started to think what that meant

”it’s fine just a little more oomph like this...and this should be fine”

”you’re right, this really does look good” even haru was impressed

”that’s ann for you, she knows her stuff” shiho complimented ann

”surprisingly this is really snug...wait! this barely covers anything!” futaba told the group

”of course it doesn’t it’s a swimsuit” makoto bluntly said

”wait, what are you doing?” futaba started to panic

”just need to put the finishing touches” ann said

”noooooooooooo!!”

some shuffling could be heard above the boys

”they’re only trying out her swimsuit right?” morgana didn’t even know what the group were doing at this point

”they should be, right?” ryuji looked around for any validation and reassurance

” **hey ren you want me to peek?** ”

” _I should’ve put you in solitary confinement_ ”

” **you’re so bland, be a man and live life to its fullest!** ”

” _sorry but I’m fine_ ”

”hmmm...” yusuke was thinking to himself intensively

”what’s up yusuke?” ren looked up and saw yusuke in deep thought

”I was wondering if I should ask makoto to let me make a painting on this, I believe a painting like this would be great”

”dude knock it off, I doubt makoto would even allow you to even paint any one of us let alone paint someone in their bathing suit”

”but I painted both you and ren?” yusuke replies confused

”THAT’S DIFFERENT! SHE WASN’T EVEN THERE FOR THAT!” ryuji didn’t want to be reminded of that time

”wait what do you mean you painted the both of them?” mishima was confused but what yusuke meant

”oh back when I was acquaintances with the group I never had a persona until I met everyone” yusuke told him

”but what about the painting part of it?” mishima was wanting to know about that part

”oh that’s when-“ yusuke was about to tel mishima what happened

”WE DON’T NEED TO BE REMINDED OF WHAT HAPPENED!” ryuji cut off yusuke while yusuke looked at him confused by his actions

ren was laughing at ryuji while mishima sat there baffled but what ryuji was so frustrated for

”WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING!?!? YOU WERE THERE TOO!”

ryuji was getting flustered and pissed off at the thought of what had happened when they tried getting the door in madarame's palace open

”well ryuji if it helps you to forget, why don’t you go upstairs and ask makoto if yusuke can paint futaba in a bathing suit” ren suggested with a sinister smile

ren snickered while ryuji slowly turned his head towards him

”do you want me to die!?” 

”I see that would be a good idea, ryuji. do it” yusuke didn’t mind

”did you not just hear me!?”

”I believe in you bro! if only I had that much courage to do something so extreme” mishima was tearing up as he thought ryuji was preparing to do something daring and brave

”you guys!!”

”don’t mind me asking but what’s this about a swimsuit?” sojiro was behind the counter the entire time while there was commotion upstairs and the boys bickering in front of him

”oh, we’re preparin to go to a beach soon” ryuji told him, very thankful for it as it got them off the painting discussion they were having

”a beach huh..” sojiro chuckled “what it’s like to be young, I guess me and futaba will hold the fort over here”

”but futaba’s coming with us..?”

”haha....eh?” sojiro stopped laughing and looked straight at ryuji “she’s...coming with you guys?”

”yeah..is that gonna be an issue? does she need some like therapy or something?” ryuji asked

”no no it’s just...I never thought she’d go outside and to a beach at that” sojiro took a deep breath “things really do change”

some more shuffling could be heard from above

the shuffling that they heard was from the girls coming back down this time with futaba not in her swimsuit but her normal casual clothes

”I think we have made our match” ann said happy that her choice in bathing suit was perfect on futaba

”now futaba we need you to try to get rid of those round shoulders of yours, try to stand straight”

futaba tried shiho’s advice and stood up straight instead instead of her usual hunched over stance

”alright then are we ready for the beach?” morgana eagerly wagged his tail

“yep we sure are”

”then you kids have fun and try to make some good memories together and futaba” sojiro looked to futaba who looked at him waiting for what he’s about to say “have a good time outside”

”I will!”

”then should we go right now?”

as soon as mishima proposed that question futaba shivered

”I think futaba would have a heart attack, let’s do it tomorrow so she can have enough time to prepare” ren told him

the group nodded and they left the cafe to prepare for the beach

after they left futaba shuddered once more

”you left me in a war zone...” futaba said

”sorry, there was nothing I can do, honest” ren said in a very apologetic tone

”hmph” futaba pouted as she left the cafe

” **well then let’s get ready then** ”

” _i can finally get some sleep_ ”

ren headed upstairs as he slept until the next day came

* * *

_**The next day** _

it was already almost noon and both futaba and ren were ready to go to the beach

they both stood in front of the counter while sojiro was packing something

“well then kids here’s all you need”

sojiro gave both futaba and ren some lunches for them and the entire group

they had more food in their bags as ren had prepared it last night

”anyways have a safe trip you two and ren I need you to do a favor for me”

”yeah?”

”make sure no strangers try to hit on futaba and if they do give em hell”

ren laughed “will do”

”I’ll be fine sojiro don’t you worry about me” futaba was strangely hyped for the trip even though yesterday she was scared to death

”well I know I’m just trying to keep an eye on you”

”and I appreciate you doing so, now we don’t have to time to rest let’s go go go!” futaba said as she walked to the door

futaba anxiously stood by the door waiting for ren to come

”come on hurry” futaba was getting impatient

sojiro chuckled as he turned his head back to ren  “have fun you two and try to be safe, I wouldn’t want you two to get hurt”

”we won’t” ren stuffed the lunches into his bag

ren had two bags on him, one for the beach and one with morgana in it but he had no more room in his other bag so he stuffed the last lunch in the mona bag

”hey watch it I’m in here!” morgana said as he was being forced into an even more of a cramped space

ren looked back at sojiro after he finished stuffing the lunch into his bag

”see ya later sojiro” ren waved sojiro goodbye as he stepped to the door

”have fun!” sojiro told them as he saw them leave

”thanks dad” futaba left right after ren

that comment that futaba lightly tossed hit sojiro deeply and it caught him off guard

he smiled as he went back to what he was doing before

” _so...this is what it likes to be a father_ ” sojiro felt touched

”now I see what kazuma was talking about

* * *

both ren and futaba walked over to the nearest street

as they tried to look for haru’s limo

ren pulled out his phone to text the group

[Re: are you guys already in?]

[H: yep and I should be arriving just now]

ren looked up from his phone and saw the black limousine pull up to the curb

“whoaaaa” futaba’s eyes lit up as she saw the limo pull up to them

the window dropped down and ryuji popped his head out of it

”you ready?”

”am I ever! now move out the way so I can go in” futaba was pumped to be taken to a beach in a limo

futaba opened the door and got in with the rest of the group

ren followed suit and soon they started to embark on their journey to the beach

* * *

the group neared their destination

futaba stared out the window in amazement as she saw the bright yellow coastline and the beautiful blue ocean for the first time through her own eyes and not a computer screen

”hey that’s the beach right?” futaba asked

futaba looked back to the group

”why yes futaba, it is the beach” makoto appreciated the excited tone

”wow”

the group all laughed in delight to futaba’s bubbly attitude towards the beach

”but what’re the little moving sticks on the ground? they look like thin crabs” futaba said as she imagined the crabs on a grill

”those are people futaba” shiho told her

hearing the word people made futaba slink back into her seat and close the window as she started to regret her choices

”on second thought I think I’ll pass the beach” futaba didn’t want to deal with the pressure

”too late futaba we’re already here” ann popped her bubble

futaba pouted as she scrunched her face to her knees

once they made it they all got out of the limo and took in the fresh salty sea smell

once the limo left they all started to walked down on the hot beach

”where should we set up?” ryuji said as he tried to find a free spot

”there’s one over by the changing rooms let’s go there” morgana pointed to an open spot that was close to the waves and right next to the changing rooms

”alrighty then everyone let’s get changed and boys set up the umbrella” shiho gave the boys some orders

ryuji looked at shiho irritated “why do we have to do it?”

”because you guys are already in swim shorts and sandals? we still have to change so if you were to set it up it’s be faster”

ryuji grunted in defeat as shiho was pretty reasonable 

”fine, take your time” ryuji angrily trotted over to the spot where they would set up while all the girls went into the changing room

the boys then set up the umbrella and dumped their stuff on the sand next to it

* * *

after they finished setting up they sat around waiting for the girls to come out

mishima dropped the cooler right in front of them and immediately grabbed a cold drink and placed it to his head

”this day is so hot”

mishima looked over to see ren place contacts in his eyes and put away his glasses

”whatcha doing there ren?” he asked him

”if we’re going into the water my glasses will get in the way so I’m just gonna use my contacts instead” ren told him

”good thinking” 

” **ann’ll dig it** ”

ryuji busted out some folding chairs and sat down on one while he took off his shirt

”hey yusuke why’re you wearing that white jacket?” ryuji asked curious to see him where a jacket like that in such hot weather

yusuke was wearing a white jacket with nothing under

”I’m a bit sensitive to the sun so I’m wearing this jacket for protection”

”then here’s some sun block in case” ryuji went into one of his bags and tossed yusuke a bottle”

”thanks I’ll use it sparingly” yusuke didn’t want to take advantage of him

”just make sure you cover yourself in it man, you’re pale already we wouldn’t want you to accidentally turn red from the sun” ryuji didn’t care for how much sunblock he’d use

”hey ren why don’t you take off your shirt?” both mishima and ryuji had their shirt off and ren was still in his black shirt as he opened a cold water bottle

”hmm? oh this is why” ren lifted his shirt a little and revealed all of the scars lined on his back

they were small sure but they needed more time to heal and then they might go away but they were easily visible and plentiful

”woah ren held you why so many scars?” mishima was fascinated

”the metaverse trips we usually go on can be more gruesome, I learned that fact well in kyoto when I was solo” ren told the group

”but how do these scars form? we’ve been hit many times but we never got these scars” ryuji was confused by that

”that’s because he’s shed blood before, ain’t that right ren” morgana was curious to ren’s origin

ren, the same guy who’s been through the metaverse a year before him knocking out palaces left and right. he has had access to multiple personas and can even duel wield personas but he always seemed mysterious even though he’s told the group about his past he felt as if there was more than what he led on

the way he reacts to certain things is strange as if he knows what’s behind it all but ren couldn’t have taken out palaces by himself, no he was too weak at the start there must’ve been another factor in it all

all of this was bouncing in morgana’s mind...but the thought of ann in bathing suit soaked up most of it

”yeah if you get cut too deep in the metaverse scars will form because of how unnatural you’re healing, but they do go away over time as long as they aren’t huge scars”

”wait so you would’ve have more scars if this wasn’t the case?”

”big time, I would’ve have scars all around my body and maybe one along my cheek and eyes like this” ren dragged his finger over his face directly crossing over his right eye and down to his left cheek

”damn that’s sick but wait you got slashed on the eye?” ryuji was impressed by ren and how he managed himself in the metaverse while he busted out a blueberry popsicle from the cooler

”yeah it hurt like hell but it went away in a day or three”

”so how long till the scars on your chest and back go away?” yusuke asked 

”they’re more recent and more deeper so probably a few more months, if not I could easily just get plastic surgery” ren told him

”dude you can barely afford ramen what do you mean plastic surgery?” ryuji has to spot ren for ramen yet he talked about some expensive procedure

”you never know I could end up becoming a model like the ones on tv” ren jokes around

”I think ann’s influencing you too much man” ryuji shook his head

the boys laughed at eachother’s quips

”sorry we took so long”

ann was the first to step out out of the changing room

she had a two piece bikini that had an array of colorful flowers all placed on a bright blue background

along with that she had her hair down instead of her usual dual ponytails which had all the guys staring at her

ren couldn’t take his eyes off of her and it made ann giggle

ren blushed as he tried to look away

” **looks like someone’s digging it** ”

”it’s really busy out here” the next one to step out was haru who wore a pink one piece along with her sun hat that helped her see without the bright sun getting in her way

”at least we can relax without any hackers trying to destroy japan” shiho stepped out wearing a two piece red bikini that was very similar to ann’s except for the color and pattern

”true we can relax for once” and lastly makoto stepped out with a white two piece with ruffles and a skirt

the guys were all starting at all of the girl’s bathing suits

ryuji’s popsicle stick fell out of his mouth as he got an eyeful if their smoking hot bods and their beautiful swimsuits

he started to get a perverted look into his eyes which made ann laugh at him

”what are you finally gonna take me serious?” ann playfully punched ryuji in the gut

”I will now hehe” ryuji kept that looked up until mishima tapped his shoulder

”what’s up yuuki?” ryuji asked

mishima pointed behind him 

ryuji turned around to see ren with his arms crossed and he was giving ryuji a glare that could freeze you in place

ryuji dropped the look and he tried to not get any thoughts otherwise ren would bust him open like a can of soda

”by the way are we missing anyone?” mishima was looking at the fact that there was only four girls and not five

”there is?” haru turned around to face the changing rooms “futaba-chan! come on out, let’s come outside and have some fun!”

some murmuring could be heard inside

the group could see her hesitantly try to walk out

the group stood patiently as they awaited for her to eventually pop out

”here I come” futaba stepped out of the changing room

she wore a yellow two piece with ruffles and red dots on it..

...

and...she had a towel on her head that made her look like she was part of a mummy

”tish ish perfecsh!” futaba held her hands out and walked aimlessly as she obviously couldn’t see anything through that towel

makoto held her hands as she had to point her to where the group was

”not yet, let me get this thing off of you first”

makoto grabbed her shoulder and unraveled the towel off of her head

once she did her hair dropped down and revealed her face

she looked nervous and anxious as she waited for the group to react

the group all smiled and gave futaba a warm welcome which seemed to calm her down

the group all sat down at their umbrella and either took a chair or sat on the blanket

“hey ann why is your hair down? special occasion?” futaba questioned why ann came in to the beach with her pony tails up and now she left the changing room with them down

”you can say that..” ann giggled

”man I'm starving, I skipped breakfast for this” ryuji skipped his breakfast as he hoped someone in the group would bust out some food

futaba walked over to one of the bags ren brought and opened it

she took out a small container filled with lukewarm ramen

”you even have ramen here?” ryuji said as futaba started to munch on it

futaba responded with a mouthful of it “my staple food, I can never go without this stuff”

futaba started to scarf down all the ramen she had like there was no tomorrow

”anyways you guys wanna do beach volleyball? boys vs girls?” ryuji suggested

“sure why not” makoto allowed it

ryuji laughed “seeing as we have ren and a former volleyball member I think we have it in the bag”

”uhh ryuji I’m a volleyball player too you know” shiho felt left out

”yeah but we have that balanced out, ain’t that right yuuki?” ryuji looked over to mishima as he was a volleyball player

”I mean I am a volleyball player..but I was mainly a reserve and I wasn’t that good of a player”

”wait I thought you were apart of the main group?” ryuji thought he was a more important piece

”that was shiho I mainly covered for injured players” mishima told him

”then at least we have ren, he could beat an olympian” ryuji was reassuring himself

“that was a fluke and the only person doing work on his team was himself while we had some players pitching in” ren told him

”huh...well no matter I bet we’ll do good regardless” 

and it was at that moment when ryuji basically sealed his fate

* * *

_**2 sets later** _

”HIYAHH!”

makoto spiked the ball down and it directly slapped ryuji on the chest leaving a small red mark on his chest

ryuji fell to the ground tired

no matter what he did mishima was trying his best, yusuke was indifferent and ren seemed to be right about not being as good as ryuji said

this all worked into the girl’s favor as shiho and makoto kept spiking the ball down

ann never really got the ball so she couldn’t hit it

haru usually pitched it and helped serve it on occasions

and futaba was just lucky enough that she didn’t have to do actual exercise as she didn’t even need to defend

morgana was keeping score but he stopped after ryuji kept eating more of makoto’s spikes and he realized how one sided the match was

”are we done yet ryuji?” makoto sighed

”fine then you win this one, but I’ll get you back one of these days” ryuji got back up and shook all the sand off of his back

”well then let’s do what we already planned on doing” makoto said

”whatcha guys doing?” ren asked

”we’re going on a banana boat!” futaba happily cheered as she pumped her fist in the air

”sorry but, there’s only a four person boat left that we can rent so you’ll have to make do without us” haru apologized at the fact they couldn’t come along

”wait but what about us guys??”

”i don’t know, find something you want to do” shiho said bluntly

“that’s so fair we’re celebrities, you have to treat us with respect!” ryuji said loudly

everyone looked at ryuji like he was insane

”ryuji you have no tact” futaba shook her head 

“ryuji leave the girl hitting to me if you may” morgana sat down proudly with his chest out

everyone set their eyes directly on the cat

”seems the boys can steal treasures but they can’t steal a girl’s heart” shiho facepalmed

”don’t group me with them” ren was offended by shiho’s comment

”anyways see ya later boys” shiho walked off

”hell yeah banana boat here I come!!” futaba ran off ahead of the group

”futaba! be careful you might accidentally trip!” makoto tried to catch up with her

“booyah! I call front seat” futaba’s voice could be heard in the distance

“futaba-chan that’s not the one we rented!” haru told her

the girl’s voice kept getting less and less as they disappeared from the boys

”so...why’re you still here?” ryuji asked

out of all the girls ann was the one to stay behind

ann looked at ryuji and then locked her arms around ren’s

”reasons” ann said as she didn’t need to elaborate any further

”aww but we’re supposed to pick up chicks together” ryuji was disappointed to see ren already he swept away

”ryuji the last time I went with one of your schemes you left me to die while you and mishima jumped off a balcony” ren told him remembering operation madiwatch’s failure

ann looked at ren confused to what he meant by that

it sounded like a pretty fun story to hear in all honesty

”you asked for it! you wanted to be left behind”

”that’s because you two were complaining and freaking out like a bunch of babies!” ren told him

”now now guys let’s not break out into a fight you two let’s just be civilized” mishima tried to break up the fight

”shut it! side character” ren used futaba’s insult against mishima which worked as he fell to the ground

”why do I even bother?” mishima said as he was on the ground 

“well anyways if you’ll excuse us” ann pulled ren along away from the boys leaving them by themselves

”so...what do we do now?” morgana asked curious to what the guys were planning

”we could pick up girls while you watch out stuff” ryuji told him

”wait that’s not fair-“

”see ya later morgana!”

morgana had no say in the matter

the three boys left while morgana laid on the cooler by himself

”great...I’m alone”

”hey look a cat! let’s pet it!” some small children ran over to the cooler and started to grab at morgana

”noooo, NOOOOO!!” morgana started to yell as his cheeks and tail were being pulled by the small children “RYUJII!!!”

morgana would’ve fought back but the kids grip was too strong for him to handle

* * *

_**meanwhile** _

the four girls sat in the banana boat having a swell time

makoto was in the front while futaba was behind her and then shiho and haru

futaba splashed the water around as they rowed on the ocean

the waves were gentle as they sloshed around and slapped the side of the boat

”say futaba?” makoto slightly turned around to face futaba

futaba stopped sloshing around to hear makoto

”yeah?”

”how did you find out about the metaverse?” she asked her

”I knew about it from looking on my mom’s files” futaba told them

the three looked surprised as they didn’t know about this part of futaba’s story

”i didn’t mean it like that I meant how...wait you know about the metaverse before you came into your palace?” makoto has to mention that part 

”yep! and I think ren told you about that right?” 

”ren...no? was he supposed to tell us?” shiho was confused

was ren supposed to tell them about that?

”wait did he not tell you about cognitive psience?”

”cognitive...what?” makoto was confused by the term

”it’s a science study that is closely related to the metaverse and cognition and how it all works” futaba wondered why she was explaining it didn’t ren tell them about it?

”but why does ren know this?” haru asked

”he knew who my mom was...did sojiro tell you about it?” futaba thought he at least elaborated about that

”no he just said how wonderful of a person she was and how you’ve been suffering” shiho told her

”weird...but wait if that’s the case then how does ren know of a highly confidential file?” futaba tried to think of reasons

”how confidential?” makoto asked afraid of the answer

”I found it in a government building but it was really short so I don’t know why they had it locked up like that”

makoto and the other two looked at eachother very confused

”but ren knows about such a file?” haru wondered why ren somehow knew about such a thing

”but if ren knows why didn’t he tell you guys?” futaba looked at the three so see their shocked expressions

what futaba didn’t get was that ren always hid away his secrets from the group

although she monitored ren she sometimes skipped that and watched anime instead

if only she had heard all of his conversations he had with akechi

but to the three girls this seemed to be troublesome

ren had some insight in files that might be so sensitive that only high ranking officials could reach yet ren knew of such a file

”do we ask ren about this?” makoto asked the other two

shiho agreed with makoto ”if he knows about this then we might have to, he knows a lot we don’t know and it may help us to figure out somethings like the black mask guy”

”black mask?” futaba asked confused to who they were referring

”it’s a person who uses the metaverse for heinous crimes such as murder” haru didn’t like where this conversation was going

”wait if ren knows about cognitive psience then you don’t think he knows who the black mask is” makoto looked to the other as she wanted their take on it

”I wish to hope that is not the case” haru said gloomily

I mean ren couldn’t know who it is....right?

the girls drifted on their boat as they had trouble trying to figure out what this meant and what this could mean for the group

* * *

back on the beach the boys were going up to women and trying to hit on them

except ryuji and as much charm as a piece of cardboard

yusuke didn’t care for such things and mishima was shunned away but he got a compliment here and there which was more than the silence ryuji got

”damn this is so bullshit!” ryuji said in frustration

they’ve been turned down each time by every female they talked to

”hey yuuki, do you have any other ideas for what we should do?” ryuji asked

”no...what about you yusuke?” mishima looked over to where yusuke was standing

but he wasn’t anywhere in sight

“where’d he go?” ryuji scratched his head wondering where he went

seemed yusuke separated from the group a while back and it left ryuji and mishima to themselves

”oh well wanna try again ryuji?” mishima asked hoping this time would be the lucky number

”19th times the charm I guess..” ryuji slumped his head down  as he expected failure to come his way

”oh my! if it ain’t that cute blonde we saw in Shinjuku”

ryuji felt goosebumps on his back

he slowly turned around to see two flamboyant beefy men walk up to the two

”uhh ryuji...who’re they?” mishima asked startled

”no one important just walk away like nothing is there” ryuji tried to walk away from the two

”halt! we’re the fashion police and we can’t you two cuties walk away from us without answering our question” they said

”q-question?” mishima said scared to what was going to happen

”yes cutie pie, which one of us with more lovely?” 

both ryuji and mishima froze in place and they didn’t know whether they should respond or keep quiet

”ummmm...”

”times up! you took too long, the answer is both of us, and now we’re going to have to arrest you two”

”for what?” ryuji asked annoyed

”for stealing our hearts”

”uhh yuuki I think we should stand our ground” ryuji told him

”are you sure?”

”of course this is what ren would do”

”ok I’m going to trust you”

mishima stood still while he heard the sand next to him kick up

he turned over to see ryuji start to break for it and try escaping from the two men

”guess it’s just you and us~”

mishima could feel their eyes stare him down

and his first instinct was to immediately run as well

”get those fugitives~”

”they’re getting away~”

the two men ran after both ryuji and mishima

* * *

and whilst that was happening ann and ren were at a nearby open restaurant sharing a drink and eating some light snacks

they were laughing amongst each other as they were having a good time in eachother’s company

”so you’re parents are really crazy huh?” ann asked laughing at ren’s family story

”my mom wanted me to get a girlfriend and my dad always annoyed my friends but at least my mom was humble with that stuff but she gave me lessons on baking among other things”

ren was telling ann about some of his parents antics

”my parents said they might try coming over here to celebrate my birthday so I’m not sure I haven’t talked to them in a while so I don’t know how they’ll be” 

”do they know I’m your boyfriend?” ren asked 

”no! if i did they might come here and start to question you” ann didn’t know how her parents would react

”so they are crazy” ren said laughing

”a little bit” ann at least admitted to that fact

the two giggled among one another

”RYUJI WAIT UP!!” mishima’s voice was heard in the background

”NAH MAN EVERY MAN FOR THEMSELVES I DEALT WITH THEM ONCE IM NOT DOING AGAIN!!” ryuji’s was also heard

ren and ann looked over to the beach to see mishima and ryuji running whilst being chased by two very flamboyant men

”is that...” ann said

”yes it is..” ren answered

” **they must be having a swell time** ”

” _a happy ending?”_ ren joker in his head

 _”_ **exactly** ”

ren and ann resumed their date while they heard the screams of their two friends in the distance

* * *

after a few more minutes ann and ren got up and started to walk back to their stuff

”so should we ask why two men were chasing after ryuji and yuuki?” ann asked curious to what had happened

“it looks like a long story” ren didn’t want to know

”what looks like a long story?”

both ren and ann turned around to face yusuke who had a lobster in each of his hands

he had a satisfied look on his face as he held the two crustaceans

”yusuke....what’s with the lobsters?” ren questioned why yusuke had lobsters

”ah so you do appreciate how beautiful these specimen are” yusuke said as she examined one of them

”they’re just lobsters..?” ann said plainly

”aren’t they great I found them on sale and I used all of my money for this”

”all of your money? do you have enough for the ride home?”

yusuke choked on his words as he didn’t have any money for the train

”these are more important” yusuke tried to defend his purchase

”no they are not” ann said bluntly

”you just don’t understand the true meaning between these two lobsters and what they truly convey” yusuke told the two

”I guess I don’t...” ren feigned ignorance as to not complicate the situation further

”anyways let’s head back to the group they should be off of the banana boat by now”

”I hope so I wish to know their opinion on these two” yusuke said as the lobsters pinched their claws

”a big waste of money” ren muttered under his breath”

”what was that? I couldn’t hear you correctly” yusuke heard ren say something but he didn’t hear him fully

”nothing..let’s just go, I’ll spot you for the train fare”

”why thank you I hadn’t thought about that actually” yusuke admitted to himself

”no worries” ren told him

the three walked to where they had set up their stuff

surprisingly no one was there except futaba who was reaching over the cooler trying to grab something most likely morgana who tried to hide away from her

they were about to walk over when they heard some familiar voices nearby

”we’re here with some friends I’ve told you this several times!”

makoto was arguing with someone

the three looked over to see makoto, shiho and haru being harassed by two men who tanned themselves way too much

”ahh come on sweetie, we’ll treat you right we even have a sweet boat”

one of the men looked at makoto while he licked his lips

”sorry but that’s gonna have to be a no, we’re with people and we don’t have time to hang out with people like you” shiho had her arms crossed as she talked to the two men

”people like us? we have a boat filled with celebrities and some big names in the industry on it and we could easily get you involved with them as long as you come with us”

”sorry but we’ll have to decline as we have somewhere to be” haru politely said no and bowed to show respect

”don’t be like that we’re probably better than those guys anyways” he told them

seemed the two men weren’t letting up

while that was happening the two boys and ann saw it go down

they don’t know what happened but they could easily connect the dots together

”what should we do?” ann asked

”confront them” ren said as he didn’t mind joining the fray

”they might get physical though” ann got worried in case anything physical started up

”hey yusuke can you have one of those lobsters pinch them?” ren asked

”I’ll shall see” yusuke nodded 

”then I guess we have no other choice than approach” ann said

they started to walk up to the three girls

the three girls tried to find a way out of this when they saw yusuke, ren and ann walking up to them

”oh thank god you guys are here!” shiho felt relieved to see ren and ann walk up to them

shiho tried to walk away but one of the men grabbed her arm

”hey-“

before ren could try to help out makoto slapped his arm off of shiho

”creep stay back!”

the man jerked his hand backwards as makoto’s slap

”jeez what’s wrong with you?”

”AHHH GET IT OFF GET IT OFF!!”

everyone looked behind them to see the other tanned man having a lobster hang off of one of his ear piercings

”get him Giuseppe” yusuke called out as he held the other lobster

” **did he name his lobster...Giuseppe?** ”

the man was able to get the lobster off of his ear and he held his ear to make nothing was wrong with it

”ohh and who’s this?-“ the man eyed down ann but before he could go further ren stepped in

”try anything and I’ll break every bone in your arms” ren said with an intimidating look

the man got the message and he and the other man walked away

”good riddance, anyways are you guys good?” ann said worried for her friends

”they were really rude” shiho sneered

”well it’s all thanks to your lobsters that helped us” haru said as she shook hands or claws with the lobster

”ooh! are those lobsters?” futaba said excitedly

the group looked forward and saw futaba and morgana running towards yusuke

”oh what’re you gonna make with them? sashimi? bisque? or are you gonna roast them whole?”

”mm boiled lobster sounds nice about now” futaba said as she licked her lips

futaba tried reaching for one of them but yusuke pulled away

futaba saw this and thought it was a mistake or a prank

”now now Inari give me one” futaba tried again to no avail

she started to get angry and impatient

”Inari! give. me. them!!” futaba kept trying to grab for them but each time she did yusuke would pull away and dodge as he refused to give them up

”futaba these are not for eating these a merely for visual appreciation and not for consumption” yusuke told her as she kept trying to reach out for one of them

the group sat back at their umbrella and spent a bit longer splashing around in the water

* * *

the sun started to set down as the group stood on the shoreline and watched the sun set

they all heard running from their right and they saw mishima and ryuji running towards them

”where were you guys?” morgana was the first to speak to them

”running away from two very odd men” mishima told them

”what do you mean odd?” futaba asked

”they somehow knew ryuji?” mishima was confused

everyone turned their eyes to ryuji

”it’s nothing now can we not focus on that” ryuji said wanting to switch the topic

”I guess but we should probably go, the suns setting”

“you’re right, alright everyone pack it up!” ryuji looked to futaba “that means you too futaba

”can I say something before though...”

“sure what is it?”

futaba turned around

”I wanna thank you all for risking your lives in saving me...I..don’t know how to repay you..”

”you can repay us by staying a phantom thief silly goose” haru said giggling

”so I’m already a phantom thief?” futaba asked

”of course you are, you fit all the requirements” ryuji told her

”what are the requirements?” futaba was curious to what requirements ryuji had set

”well you have he persona, you have a goal and you’re more useful than mona!” 

mona immediately turned his head to ryuji 

“what did you say?”

”you’re useless and that’s it” ryuji told him straight up

”why you!!!”

the two ended up arguing whilst the group packed up their stuff

* * *

_**on the way back to leblanc** _

futaba and ren were walking back home

they were dropped off by haru’s limo and carrying their stuff back home

they changed clothes back into their casual wear

”hey futaba did you have fun?”

”yeah I had lots, and thanks for taking me”

”anytime after all you’ve been through a lot” ren said

futaba took a deep breath as she wanted to say something to ren

”hey ren....” futaba said quietly

”what’s up?” ren turned around to face futaba

futaba looked as if she had something heavy to say

”how do you know about my mom’s research?” she asked

ren stood there silent while futaba waited for his answer

something as sensitive as that shouldn’t be an easy answer to give

she knows how stubborn ren is but she wanted to see if he’s really changed since confessing about kasumi

”my dad is a detective and I snuck into his work study and I found out about that”

”wait you did? but how does he-“

”it’s a complicated situation but my dad knows a lot of people on the inside, I’m surprised he hasn’t been targeted” ren rubbed the back of his head “now I’m gonna go to bed, you should too it’s been a long day”

ren opened the door to the cafe and headed inside leaving futaba standing in front of the entrance

she knew that look he had in his eyes and the way his body swayed was too suspicious as if he was hiding something

”liar...”

futaba walked back home while that thought planted itself into her mind


	75. An odd coincidence and a reminder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> . . .  
> A lot to unpack here  
> I had to do a couple double takes  
> On the fence whether or not I made this as right as I wanted it to be or if I jsut made it too extreme again  
> But then again  
> Extreme can be a good thing

_**Ogikubo** _

akechi walked down the street with his suit case in hand

he wore an outfit more befitting for the summer

as he walked down the street he could feel the fangirls on the street stare at him

he sighed as he kept walking

” _they really do follow me everywhere_ ”

he was supposed to be investigating another mental shutdown case but what’s the point in that when he already know who the culprit was

for now he’d skip that for later in he day as now he was hungry and he couldn’t find any restaurant that peaked his interest

and all the stores around him were those filled with desserts which he wasn’t willing to eat

it's not good to constantly eat high sugary foods and akechi was not going to deal with that

whilst walking down the street he saw a ramen shop

it wasn’t extravagant or elegant it was a simple run down shop

”on second thought I’ll go somewhere else”

akechi started to turn around and he was about to head back for the train station 

”oh hey it’s that detective guy”

akechi looked over to see a blonde boy with a bright colored t shirt with a skull on it

although he was a random he was one of the people that was with ren when he confronted him a while back

“what a coincidence that we cross paths again”

”I guess we do a lot but why are you here?” ryuji didn’t think someone which such a high status like akechi being near something as run down like a ramen shop

”just strolling around searching for something to eat”

”then why don’t you eat here?”

”I don’t know, I don’t think it would be right for my palette”

ryuji laughed “don’t be such a downer come on Ill show you the best parts of this shop”

ryuji pushed akechi along inside ramen shop

they both got a whiff of the fresh smell of ramen

”what is this strong smell?” akechi hadn’t smelt something like this in a long while but it was a familiar scent that pleased him

”it’s ramen, have you never had ramen before?” ryuji was confused by akechi’s look as he was drooling

it seemed to him that he never had ramen before

“ _maybe he’s only had rich people food_ ” he thought to himself

”no I’ve had ramen before but this is very different to all the other

they sat at the counter next to eachother

the chef walked up to the two

”well of it isn’t ryu” the chef looked to akechi as he was a new face in his shop “and I see you brought a new friend, so then what’ll it be?”

”give me the usual as always”

akechi looked at the two chat to one another

they were on friendly terms maybe more than acquaintances as they seemed to know eachother a little

”so which one of you is paying?”

”I got so funds left so of course I’m paying”

akechi looked at ryuji with a smile “it’s fine I’ll pay for my own food but I appreciate the hospitality”

”aww come on you must be busy with being a detective and all, and having to be on tv all the time, you must be worked to the bone all the time”

”well yes but no and I think I can pay on my own”

”too late I already decided, plus you look pretty skinny so you have to beef yourself up”

ryuji did an arm pose as he flexed his muscles in a comedic way

akechi sighed but gave out a small laugh “you truly are a strange one”

“heh I get that a lot”

their ramen bowls eventually came out

they were piping hot and steaming

”this is an odd bowl” akechi poked at the ramen with his chopsticks “what is this?”

”it’s pork? have you not had pork before”

”of course I have I just haven’t had something like this...what even is this?”

”pork bone ramen”

”this looks a lot more than pork”

”yeah....cause it’s ramen..?” ryuji said not understanding what was the big deal 

akechi had a look of concern as he stared at the ramen

”well bottoms up” akechi decided to just dig in

akechi picked up some of the noddles and swallowed it

his eyes widened as he was surprised by the nice taste and feel of the noodles

”it’s good ain’t it?” ryuji grinned as he waited for akechi’s response 

alechi looked to his left and saw ryuji’s smug smile piercing through him

”shockingly, although it looks like a lot it’s really good” akechi kept eating the ramen

”told ya” 

”this really is different from all the food I’ve gotten from being on tv” akechi admitted

”don’t they give you cookies and stuff?” ryuji asked

”yeah, I can’t tell you how many sweets I have gotten without getting sick to my stomach” akechi had seen so many cookies, donuts and other sweets at the tv recordings it sickened him even if he saw even one candy cane it made him gag “I guess you can say this is an amazing alternative to all the things I’ve eaten”

”so you really seem like you’re busy” ryuji said a little surprised to hear that from a famous person

akechi put down his chopsticks before he took another bite

”why’s that?”

”well you looked stressed out like you’ve been working yourself to the bone, I can see it in your eyes and the way you sit” ryuji was used to seeing a physically exhausted person just by hanging out with ren and how much he burns himself out on a daily basis

”hm? you can tell just by that huh?” akechi was surprised ryuji could tell

”I know a guy who always does shit like that every other week, he tries to keep it low and calm but he always sucks at hiding it. it’s so obvious too it’s like he’s not even trying to hide it he just let’s it slip half the time and I’ll tell you it’s relieving to see”

”relieving..? how is something so troublesome relieving?” akechi was confused by ryuji

”well I mean isn’t it just nice to know that your friend is finally opening up after they go completely dark on you? maybe it’s just me but seeing someone stressing themselves out sucks and it’s good to see them coming out and showing who they are”

akechi felt those words reach within him for some reason

it was strange but It was a feeling that he snuffed out easily

”I guess but won’t their selfishness and the complete inability to reveal themselves slow everyone down”

”maybe, but at the same time friends have eachother’s backs and believe me he’s had my back more than anyone else for the entire time I’ve known him”

akechi let out a small sigh “make sure that person doesn’t use that ability to use you to his advantage..”

akechi continued to slurp on his ramen while ryuji stared at him dumbfounded

after akechi slurp half of his ramen down he looked back to ryuji who kept his eyes onto him the entire time

”what’s the matter..? was it what I said? I can always take it back-” akechi didn’t know what ryuji wanted from him

”you just haven’t touched your ginger at all” ryuji pointed at akechi’s bowl

akechi had a deadpan look as he didn’t know what he was talking about until he saw where ryuji was pointing at

he was right, akechi had completely bypassed some parts of the ramen 

”and...that’s why you stopped me?” akechi said with shock

”you gotta eat your ginger man all parts of the ramen are good for you” while ryuji was saying that he kept stuffing more things into his bowl

akechi sighed as he proceeded to eat all of what he had left including all of what ryuji stuffed into his bowl

after that ryuji paid for the two bowls and they left the shop

”still are you sure you don’t want me to give you what I owe?” akechi’s tried to pay back the money for his bowl

”nah it’s fine, you look like you’re a bit stressed out so maybe having a bowl over some ramen would’ve helped you” ryuji had his signature giant grin plastered over his face

“I don’t understand you I don’t even know your name and yet you paid for my meal”

”oh it’s Ryuji Sakamoto, just call me ryuji”

”so then ryuji we’re on friendly terms it seems?”

”sure why not, it’s cool to have someone famous as a friend”

“if only famous was as bubbly as your personality then maybe it’d be just as fun”

”is...being on tv bad?”

”sort of it’s more stressful than you’d think, being pressured into doing specials and interviews while barely catching up on sleep not the best life but it has its ups...sometimes”

”sounds boring” ryuji didn’t like the sound of being on tv

akechi looked straight at ryuji who had his hands on the back of his head

”what was that..?” akechi said as he had never heard that being on tv was boring

”I said it was boring, I mean not being able to do what you want to do that just sounds really boring and not fun like why would you do something like that” ryuji spilled his first take on being on tv

akechi chuckled “you really do have a loud mouth...if only I’d meant you back then things would be different” akechi said quietly 

”what was that? I didn’t catch what you said” ryuji didn’t hear what akechi said as he’d mutter under his breath

”I said you were loud now end of story” akechi turned away from ryuji “I’ll see you around”

as akechi tried to walk away he felt a water droplet from the sky

he looked up and saw dark gray clouds straight above him instead of a bright sun

as he kept staring more and more water droplets began to hit him

and eventually it started to rain heavily

”ah jeez, hey I know this area there’s a little place down the block where we can take shelter in”

ryuji pointed down the street from where they stood

”if you may guide us then please do”

the two ran down the block and hit in a secluded alleyway that was covered from the rain

”this was the place you wanted to go to?”

”yeah because I thought the store that was right here would open but it seems the owner ain’t even here” ryuji huffed “of course it had to be today that he ain’t even here”

“well then this looks like the rain may not stop for a while, perhaps it’s a flash flood” alechi tried to check his phone for the weather

”I hope not!”

ryuji sighed and then leaned against the wall

”wanna here a story about my personal life?”

”hmm? why would you tell me?”

”I dunno you seem pretty chill and you seem like you need something break your stress and it’ll kill time until the rain passes”

akechi sighed as he closed his phone and leaned on the wall opposite from ryuji

”so..you have my attention”

”well it’s a sad story mainly about how I live with my mom”

”and your father?”

”deadbeat dad, he used to beat my mom and me a hell of a lot when I was a kid. shit sucked but I tried to protect my mom as much as I could by stepping up so he’d beat me instead, after that he left and I tried as much as I could to help my mom out. I even tried out track and I could’ve gone far if it wasn’t for some bogus gym teacher ruining it for me”

”kamoshida..was it? the teacher who has been convicted for several sexual misconduct charges, blackmail, defamation, child abuse, child neglect-“

”ok, ok I get it”

”sorry I just get antsy when it comes to this”

”yeah but luckily he was stopped and I’ve been in my way to recovery”

”well that’s some story of yours...mind if i tell mine?”

”go ahead we have time”

”well I guess it starts with my childhood my father like yours was also a deadbeat but not in the same manner..he abandoned my mother when I was born and my mom ended up taking care of me solo...until she committed suicide when I was five”

the tone around the two was already depressed and grimacing as their stories were starting to unfold

but akechi had more to say and it was not the prettiest

”I was tossed between foster homes and I desperately wanted someone to take me in but after a while I gave up and became my own person”

”harsh...but I mean we all go through shit like this..” ryuji had his hand in his pockets as he watched the rain continue to fall from the sky “there’s always some shitty obstacle in the way to things, sometimes you need more than yourself to toughen through it”

akechi smiled “ _you sound exactly like him.._ ”

”well I’m gonna go run I gotta make dinner and I can’t hang around here any longer” ryuji was about to run out “oh wait before I do you wanna exchange numbers?”

”why not...”

akechi obliged and they exchanged phone numbers

”anyways later!”

ryuji ran out of the alleyway while it was still pouring outside

akechi stood and sighed

”if only I could have that much joy..”

akechi stared at the sky

”these days always remind of something....”

* * *

**_2 years ago - Kyoto_ **

...

silence

nothing besides some rain falling down 

a surge of wind and the appearance of two young looking boys appeared

NOW LEAVING THANK YOU FOR YOUR HARD WORK

they were behind some building and they were both secluded from the outside streets

they both panted as it seemed they were out of energy and completely drained

”damn it ren, the hell are you doing!?”

”stopping you from killing my damn father that’s what!”

ren and akechi were standing at opposite ends as they were in offensive stances

it seemed either side prepared to face each other

both were very exhausted but they still had tense stances

”you were the one who set me up like this! this was your idea and look where we’re at! there’s people dead in the fucking streets because of your indecisive decisions!” akechi yelled at ren first prompting him to respond 

”mine!? you were the one who kept jumping the gun and taking it too quick before we thought together!”

”that’s because I’m in this stupid tv gig and I can’t back out of it! I wouldn’t be in this shit if you didn’t pressure me into this bullshit!” 

”me!? you’ve always said you wanted to be on tv and have all this attention! I gave that to you! you can’t back out of it now!”

”if only you weren’t there to make it even worse for me and making that case saying I solved it! I didn’t solve anything!”

”I was trying to help dammit!”

”well all you’ve done is put me in deeper shit! everyone expects so much of me now and I can’t handle all of this stress!”

”well sorry you’re too much of a damn coward to fulfill your empty promises like every tike you go and make them!”

akechi had an even tenser look as his anger rose

”my empty promises? don’t make me laugh how many people have you ended up disappointed because you can’t keep your end of the bargain”

ren stayed silent and simply bit his tongue

he’d let a lot of people down in his life and it was his fault for it

“after all it’s why your friend kasumi is now dead and why you almost got your little sister killed-“

ren’s anger skyrocketed and without a second thought he rushed towards akechi and swung his right hand that was balled into a fist straight into the face cutting him off in the process

”YOU SHUT UP!”

ren went for another swing this time his left fist

but akechi parried it and returned his punch by swinging directly at ren’s face clocking him in the nose

ren fell back but he had not time to recover and think of his next move as akechi jumped forward at him

akechi immediately slapped ren in the face and kicked his left foot forward as to put him off balance

but ren recovered and grabbed akechi by his tie

”WHY YOU!!”

ren slammed akechi on the ground along with him

ren immediately stood up and got into a fighting stance while akechi slowly brought himself to his feet

akechi stood up and spat on the ground as he wiped his lip

”you’re always like this..resorting to anger when someone tells you the truth, it’s why you’re so naive and simple minded, it’s why we’re in this shit to begin with. because you wanted to be a damn hero....WELL LISTEN HERE IT’S ALL BECAUSE YOU THAT WE’VE KILLED PEOPLE, YOU GOT TRICKED INTO IT AND YOU DIDN'T LISTEN TO ME AND NOW LOOK AT WHERE WE ARE”

”i haven’t killed a single person...”

”oh? well what about that detective..? the one your father knew”

”I didn’t do it...”

”yes you did I saw you do it!”

”after you shot him!”

”because you were too shaky on the trigger!”

”so I didn’t kill him as I wasn’t the one to pull the trigger, I haven’t pulled the trigger in anyone!””

”yet his blood is still engraved into the palms of your hands...”

“this is all because of you...”

akechi started to laugh while ren stood there “THAT’S MY LINE”

akechi jumped forward and ren did the same

their fists missed eachother and they hit eachother straight in eachother faces grinding their fist into the other’s cheeks

after that they both fell to the ground as they knocked eachother out from the force of eachother’s punches

* * *

after maybe an hour or maybe just a few minutes akechi woke up

the rain had stopped pouring and his clothes were only a little dampened

he looked behind him and saw ren not there

only a puddle with a slight red hue

he stood up after regaining his footing

”fool....I’ll show him”

akechi’s fists tightened as he walked out of the alleyway

after that nothing was the same between them

that scuffle was the last time they’d meet again for a while...

but akechi hasn’t forgotten and he’ll never will until he finally gets his true justice..


	76. August 21st

ren was on his phone in the attic while morgana slept at his bed side

”seems pretty quiet downstairs”

” **yeah, you should go down and check on the boss...he seems gloomy** ”

ren walked downstairs from his attic

it was past morning time and ren had already gotten dressed

he’d been trying to set his plan with someone but it seemed no one was responding

maybe they were busy

if so then that meant ren had nothing else to do so he might as well see what sojiro is doing

as he walked downstairs he smelt the same coffee smell he was used to but sojiro was just standing there as if he was awaiting him for some odd reason

”hey sojiro what’re you making?”

sojiro looked at him with a serious look on his face

he pulled out a hot cup filled with some freshly brewed coffee and placed it on the counter

”have a seat kid I want to tell you something..it’s important”

”important..?”

” **it seems important..maybe you shouldn’t joke around with what he might say** ”

ren exhaled and took the seat in front of the cup of coffee

”well of you don’t know..not like you would know but o wanted for you to know about why this day holds some significance”

”this day? it seems like a normal August day for me” ren didn’t understand what the 21st of August truly meant to sojiro

”well it’s because today is when Wakaba passed..it’s the third anniversary since her unfortunate passing”

ren felt uneasy hearing sojiro say that

ren took a deep breath to calm himself down as he didn’t wanna act nervous around him

for him it would be odd to do so but that might just be how he felt

sojiro chuckled as he wiped a tear from his eye

”after looking at futaba, she reminds me so much of her mother in how she acts, I’m guessing you’ve seen how straightforward she is and how she goes to the beat of her own drum right?”

”yeah” ren chuckled as he sipped his coffee “she’s an odd one but she does take after her mother’s mantle”

”you can say that again. but even so I have to thank you”

”thank me? for what?”

”for getting futaba out of her room and showing her places, I’ve never seen her have such a bright smile on her face and I can’t that l you enough. you really do bring joy to every place you go”

”I guess so...but is this all you’re going to do?”

”well I don’t know yet I wanna bring you and futaba along but I’m not so sure if futaba will agree to go”

”well we can’t force her to do so”

“you’re right but who knows maybe you’ll ask her and she’ll agree to do it but there’s still one thing that bugs me”

”which is?”

”her last message to me was ‘I think I might die.’ it’s pretty unsettling too” sojiro sighed as he leaned his body on the counter “and to think I took it as a joke..maybe if I took it serious I could’ve done something”

ren’s heart sank and he could feel his body tensing up

he took a deep breath to calm himself down

”I don’t think you could’ve these mental shutdown cases are hard to pinpoint and they...are very rattling” ren took another sip of his coffee

”even so I guess that’s why I took in futaba”

”that’s why..? you had a motive?”

”redemption, I felt awful for seeing the poor girl being yelled at by a bunch of adults and then tossed aside to be dealt with later. but I guess it was mainly to appease my own satisfaction..”

”you blamed yourself for not taking her serious and they when she disappeared you wanted to make it up to her...right?”

”basically, but can you do me that favor and get futaba over here..I need her consent for us to go”

”alright I’ll get her-“ ren was about to get up out of his seat and walk over to get her 

”wait...it’s fine it doesn’t have to be now but maybe even later is fine”

*RING*

the two looked over at the door to see futaba slowly make her way in with her hands behind her back as she trotted in and sat next to ren

”well..speak of the devil” sojiro over dramatically laughed “so I guess we’re all three together why don’t we get sushi?”

”wait..” futaba spoke up “you don’t need to hide it I know what today is...”

sojiro’s face went from joking and gleeful to serious

”yeah....I see you do”

futaba’s hands tightened “I wanna see mom..”

sojiro’s eyes widened as she did this “are you..sure..?”

futaba nodded her head “I’ve neglected her for too long..I haven’t seen her and I don’t want her to keep her waiting”

”are you sure about this..?”

”very sure..” futaba was serious and didn’t show any sign of wanting to do anything else

sojiro nodded and looked towards ren ”so then..ren you coming with?”

”sure..”

”alright then get your stuff we’re going out for today..”

”gotcha”

sojiro took off his apron and got his jacket and hat

”well then kids let’s go”

”right”

futaba didn’t say anything else all she did was nod and stay silent for the entire duration

the three stepped out and they followed sojiro to his car

they got into sojiro’s car and they quietly sped off

* * *

_**Cemetery** _

sojiro parked his car and got out

”we made it kiddos, it’s time we go see her”

the other two got and walked with sojiro along the stone path

it was a somber setting with the trees slowly moving around from the wind as if the spirits of those that were buried were still there

the graves were aligned properly and all in a straight row but it seemed like they were walking through a small version of a city

as the three walked on they saw all the names on each stone

after some more walking they finally walked to a certain gravestone with someone’s name engraved onto it

comapred to the others around it, it was newer and it hadn’t been aged by the rainfall

on it it said the name ‘ _Wakaba Isshiki_ ’ 

“so this is it...” ren stared at the stone

”sorry it took so long Wakaba but I finally came..” sojiro stepped forward and placed a white rose in front of the stone

sojiro stopped back and put his hand on futaba’s shoudler

”I finally came and I brought futaba with me..it took a while but I finally brought her with me, but I couldn’t have done it without a little help from some troublemaker”

sojiro looked to ren and ren stepped next to sojiro

”it’s good to see you” ren rubbed the back of his neck “it’s been a busy few weeks as you can see a lot has happened but I’m glad I finally came to meet you...”

sojiro smiled and then looked down to futaba ”have any words to say?”

futaba nodded her head

she stepped forward and spoke nervously as she thought about what to say without stuttering

”h-hey mom...I guess this is the first time I’ve seen you since you passed away...I’ve been doing fine I’ve gone outside and I went to the beach! it’s been a fun few days probably the most funnest I’ve had in years” futaba’s smile immediately went away as soon as she finished her sentence as she tried to hold back tears “I-I miss you a lot..sometimes I wish you were here again to see how I’ve been doing but maybe those thoughts are the main reason why I was so lost and trapped in my mind...”

sojiro nodded but he didn’t know the true meaning behind what futaba said

“these last few days have been pretty crazy and I hope you’re seeing me from wherever you are..and one more thing I have to say is I love you mom I’ll say it to you all the time and whenever I can..”

the three felt the wind blow on them softly

sojiro smiled “seems she may have heard our messages. I think she’s pretty happy now come on let’s go and get some sushi”

”oh! sushi! let’s go!” futaba was immediately excited for sushi as it was one of her favorite foods besides curry

”you guys go ahead I wanna stay here and enjoy the atmosphere a little more”

sojiro stopped in his tracks to look back at ren

sojiro have ren a smile ”we’ll be in the car waiting for you”

the two walked away leaving ren by himself

ren saw the two disappear from his sights and he faced back at the gravestone

he crouched down on one knee and looked at the stone

”I’m sorry Isshiki-san, I know you forgave me a while back but I can’t seem to get it out of my mind that I’ve could’ve done more for you. I was ignorant and didn’t think anything would happen..yet you passed away because of my blunder you had a bright career and yet I stopped you dead in your path. I’ll try my best to make it up to you and I swear I’ll get that research back for you if it’s the last thing I can do for you..”

ren felt the wind blow against his face

” **I believe she acknowledged you, she already forgave you so I don’t know if she did it twice but let’s go. we have a lot ahead of us ren it’s best that we save our path of redemption for later** ”

ren nodded “goodbye Isshiki-san take care”

ren stood up and walked back to where sojiro and futaba were

they got in and drove off to a sushi restaurant

* * *

_**Sushi restaurant** _

*NOM* *NOM* *SLURP* *CHEW*

sojiro drove the two to a nearby sushi place to go settle down and eat

and once they ordered futaba started to go to town on her sushi leaving nothing but air left

”jeez futaba calm down no one is gonna take your food”

futaba looked up to sojiro while she had several tuna rolls stuffed into her face

”but ish delirish!” futaba said as she tried to chew her food and speak at the same time

”swallow before you speak”

”mmm...no!”

futaba went back to eating her sushi like a complete animal while the other two watched in amazement

”I never knew futaba could eat so much”

” **ok but where does that go? does futaba have an abyss inside of her?** ”

after a some more scarfing down futaba’s head shot up as she pointed at her cheeks and then did a choking gesture

”drink some water!”

futaba turned towards her plate and saw the full cup of water there

she reached over it and started to drink all of what was in the cup

after that she slammed the cup down and started to catch her breath

”you okay?” ren said worried for her

”this is delicious! but where’s the restrooms?”

”they’re over there just be careful”

futaba quickly nodded and rushed over to the restrooms

”what a busy girl” sojiro chuckled “I didn’t think she’d be so open now must be because of you”

”you think so..? I don’t think I did much”

”what are you talking about you’ve been the sole reason futaba walks outside now and I can’t thank you enough, without you I might’ve never seen the day where she leaves her room”

”I guess when you put it like that that’s true” ren let out a deep sigh “but futaba is way harder to manage than I thought I don’t think I can keep up”

sojiro laughed “she is a pretty busy girl but I have to thank you I didn’t think she’d be so comfortable outside”

”is that why you didn’t serve curry that one time?”

”yeah, I thought it might evoke some bad thoughts out of futaba so I decided to not do it”

ren laughed “don’t worry I’ll make the curry for you”

”I may be asking a lot out of you”

”it’s fine don’t worry about it just think of it as a gift”

”well I’m getting an awful lot of gifts don’t you think?”

the two laughed

eventually futaba walked back form the restroom

”so you done eating?” ren said as futaba stared at her empty plate

”unfortunately, I would’ve eaten more if I could”

”well let’s save that for later, I’ll go pay the bill so you two stay here and wait for me”

”k!” 

sojiro walked over to pay for the bill while both futaba and ren sat there waiting for him

”today was fun, we should do this again sometime”

”if sojiro will take us”

”but ren I have another thing to say”

”sure, I’m all ears”

”I want to find out about what happened to my mom and I want to know what truly happened if she was killed or not”

”did the others tell you about the other metaverse user?”

”faintly, but if they exist I’m gonna give him the good ole one two!” futaba playfully pumped her fist in the air as if she was punching it “but I can’t do it without your help”

”failure isn’t an option, so I’ll go aboard your little scheme”

”heck yeah!” futaba put her fist out awaiting a fist bump

ren stared at her fist confused

” **you’re supposed to bump fists with her** ”

” _oh, r-right_ ”

ren bumped fists with her and futaba giggled in delight

”so about coming back here-“

”huh!? one hundred and twenty thousand yen!? that can’t be right!”

sojiro cut off futaba as he was shocked by how expensive their sushi was

”I guess not for a long time”

the two laughed while sojiro had to pay the bill

they eventually left and went home

* * *

_**Mishima’s room** _

mishima was at his desktop at late night

it was another peaceful night for a guy like him

snacks

the sound of nothing but himself

and his computer as he was checking on the phan site 

a perfect night for him

”now then to see if they’re any more requests”

after some scrolling mishima saw a common message

[pancakelover500: you should do a poll, we should choose who they should target next and expose who they are]

this was the first message that talked about a poll

[phansiter1368: yeah! let’s do it]

[phantomlover15: yeah admin do a poll that sounds perfect]

there were hundreds of more messages begging and asking for a poll to be added so that the people could vote on which scumbag to take down next

”well that sound good, we wouldn’t have to search for another target and worth the game we have now we should be able to pull it off”

mishima thought about it and decided

”alright let me add a poll..”

”after I learn how to code that in”

mishima went into his coding textbook and tried to search about how to add user based polls

eventually he would add it in so that the people could eventually on who would be the phantom thieves next target

this is probably one of the best ideas mishima has had in a while

if only he knew the storm he was about to unleash


	77. Railroad trip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here’s a joke chapter before I go back to seriousness 
> 
> Let’s hope I release this before my headaches becomes a fever

_**Mementos** _

”whoaaa!!”

futaba stepped through and looked at their surrounding area

”what is this place?”

futaba spun around to face the group with a huge grin on her face

the group stepped down the steps to catch up with the excited futaba

they had entered the metaverse as to show futaba how they took on requests

”this is the where everyone’s cognition cultivates basically everyone’s palace or as well call it mementos”

morgana explained what mementos was to futaba while she seemed to be scouting around and poking around at things

”uhh did you hear what I just said?”

”yep! I understand”

”ok...anyways we need to give you a code name”

”a code name? what for?”

”in case the owners or the shadows somehow remember who we are, it’d be best if we were to receive a code name to hide it”

”ok...so what are your guy’s?”

”I’ll just go down the ladder” ren walked forward and said everyone’s code names for them to futaba while she nodded her head

”how come the side character has such a cool name?” futaba wasn’t too keen on some of their names mainly mishima’s code name of admin

mishima stood there as he had to take the insult directly “it’s always me...”

”I believe our code names suit us very well” yusuke liked how everyone’s code names fit everyone’s outfit or their character

”meh, I like Inari better than fox”

”pshh, suit your own needs” yusuke turned away from futaba

”ok..so what’ll mine be?”

futaba looked to the group for their answer

”how about hacker? seeing as she is a literal hacker” makoto brought up the first suggestion

”nah, too bland” and it was rejected

”pc”

”mech?”

”navi”

”ufo?”

”chip”

everyone tried to give their best attempt to give futaba a name

”no, no, no, no, no, can you guys not come up with any good names?” futaba was irritated at the group’s lack of imagination

”goggles..?” morgana couldn’t think of a name and just went what an article of her clothing

”out of all those you have the worst taste kitty, aren’t you supposed to be magical?” futaba crouched down to poke the cat in his ears

”haha take that cat!” ryuji loudly laughed at morgana

”like you would come up with something better!”

”alright then how about data? that sounds good don’t it?”

ryuji looked satisfied with his name choice

everyone else was split on the name as they didn’t know if it was good or if it was bad as they really didn’t know what it was supposed to signify

”eh it’s better than what the cat said”

morgana’s ears drooped down

”what about you ren, what’s your suggestion?”

”uhhh....” ren tried to come up with a name

” _a little help?_ ”

” **you really are simple aren’t you?** ”

 _”just help me dammit_ ” ren didn’t need arsene’s insults

” **just use pharaoh, it’s an obvious choice** ”

”pharaoh..” ren listened to arsene’s advice

futaba stared at ren with a dead look on her face

”I’ll curse you”

seemed futaba had turned down everyone

futaba sighed as she thought to herself ”I guess since no one can think of a name how about oracle as my vision will guide you all to victory”

everyone nodded as they liked her name

”ok that settles that then let’s go!” futaba was about to walk down the tracks until she realized what was down there

she immediately ran back up and hid behind ren

”w-w-we have to go down that!?” futaba shook nervously after she saw the huge shadows and the long desolate train tracks

”no we don’t, we have mona to do that for us”

”oh like a cat bait? smart, I’m guessing the cat is made of some super strong stretchy material?” futaba walked over to morgana and started to stretch his cheeks

”I’m not!” morgana knocked futaba’s hands off of him “back away and I’ll show you what I can do!”

morgana stepped back and transformed into his van form

”whoaaa! cool!” futaba was amazed by how a tiny cat could turn into a van that looked like it could house 9 people in it

”alright now everyone get in we have some requests to do”

everyone stepped inside and they drove off down into the depth of mementos

* * *

”oh! she’ll be coming around the mountain when she comes!”

”she’ll be coming around the mountain when she comes!”

”she’ll coming round the mountain, she’ll be coming around the mountain”

”she’ll be coming around the mountain when she comes!”

ann, shiho, ryuji, haru and futaba were singing along as they drove through mementos

yusuke who was all the way in the back was on his sketchbook just doing some simple sketches

mishima was sitting across yusuke and he was taking a little nap before they hit their destination

“oh! oh! seeing as we’re on train tracks why don’t we do railroad songs!” futaba suggested an idea

”that sounds great! let’s do it”

” **kill me.....** ”

whilst this was all going down makoto who was driving and ren who was in the passenger’s seat were suffering as they been doing this for several minutes now and they were getting very irritated

”joker, for how long since we started to endure this?” makoto groaned

”since we started going into mementos”

”how much longer do we have until they stop”

”about 6 minutes but with futaba coming along with us it may be 15”

makoto groaned again while ren laid his head on the dashboard

“how long has it been?”

”12 minutes”

”how can they do this for so long?”

”sheer will power I guess? and charisma a lot of that”

”oh I’ve been working on the railroads! all the live long day!” futaba started to sing

both ren and makoto groaned as they had to deal with that for the entire ride

* * *

the ride continued on like that until they finally hit their destination

they wandered in and saw a normal highschool girl with a shujin uniform on

she seemed normal except for the dark black oozy aura that accompanied her

”so this is our target? she looks kinda crazy” futaba noted on how she looked

”a crazy stalker that stalks guys that dump her, it’s a shame too seems this is a multiple time occurance”

”multiple time occurance? what do you mean admin?”

”seems she's been dumped by a lot of people but for some odd reason she clings onto this one particular student”

”we’ll let’s not waste time and bust this case open” ryuji said as he slapped his bat into his hands

“I hope you don’t mean literally skull” makoto cracked her knuckles as she was ready to brawl

the group walked forward to greet the ominous girl

”so...I’m the target?” the girl responded softly

”yeah, I think you can tell why” ren was the one to speak up to her

”aren’t there others that matter more than little ole me”

”sorry but as phantom thieves we have to take a request from someone who is suffering, that’s our duty a thieves to reveal the true ugliness of this world”

she giggled “well then I guess you do keep up your mantle for a group of wannabe heroes”

”wannabe heroes!? oh you messed with the wrong phantom thieves!” ryuji pointed his bat at her “admin let’s go!”

”r-right” mishima took out his sword

the girl transformed into a big scary teddy bear

“time to let loose!”

ryuji jumped first followed by mishima

eventually everyone except makoto, ren and futaba jumped into the squabble

”is this how you usually deal with requests? just jumping in and attacking it?” futaba thought they would be more elegant with their takedowns

”it’s more coordinated I swear to you” makoto tried to persuade futaba that they were more diligent with their work

”skull! stop missing your spells! do it again and I’ll shove that bat up yours!”

”if you weren’t so damn useless you’d stop bumping into me and making me miss!”

in the background ryuji and morgana were arguing in the middle of battle

”focus otherwise I’m burning the both of you!” ann could also be heard screaming at the two

”fox back me up!” and shiho as well but at least it wasn’t a direct insult or a complaint

while they were doing that the three on the outskirts watched on

”sometimes...” ren said softly

”at least when one of us is guiding the team it usually isn’t as barbaric”

”huh..oh I don’t care about that this looks fun, can’t wait to give everyone boosts and to see how bad it’s goes” futaba snickered dastardly while trying hiding her evil grin

”I don’t like that laugh”

” **she has a lot of character, i like that** ”

” _this is gonna be a pain, I don’t wanna know what’s she laughing about_ ”

”hey ren I wanna see how you’ll do, so go fight something”

”next request I’ll do it, but let’s wait until we’re done with this one to do that”

”fine..” futaba pouted as she crossed her arms he cupped her hands on her mouth and yelled “you guys done?”

haru yelled back ”yeah! we’re just changing the poor girl’s heart!” 

while the three had been talking the rest had just finished fighting the stalker

the stalker had already changed back from a teddy bear into a normal human

”now then may you tell us about why you stalk this boy you love so much?” haru said with a friendly smile

the girl was wiping her tears as she sat on the ground

”because I’m afraid to actually confess to him so I watch him from afar....I’m too afraid of rejection to ask him out” tears started to fly out of her eyes while haru was patting her back trying to calm her down

”then why don’t you try to ask him out maybe he truly likes you after all”

”but what if I’m not the perfect girl for him?”

”you perfect for him you have the looks and you have the personality, all you need now is that confidence to speak to him”

”you think so..?”

”I know so, now go out there and go get him!”

the girl looked up to haru with a newly lit fire in her eyes “I will! thank you very much!”

the girl disappeared into a mist

”that’s all she needed!? some confidence to ask some dude out!?” ryuji thought that was very anticlimactic for a request

”skull, don’t be so rude she was having relationship issues” haru had a slightly anger face while she wagged her finger in front of ryuji

”but we’re supposed to be cool and stuff! not some relationship solvers”

”phantom thieves help out no matter the cause and no matter the reason and no matter how preposterous they may be”

ryuji turned away while mumbling to himself and kicking the dirt under his foot “this ain’t no hero stuff”

”relationship issues in asking out a guy eh?” shiho nudged ann

ann elbowed her in the chest “anyways mona, what’s the next request?”

”let’s see we have one more, and it’s just a known criminal who’s been terrorizing Shibuya”

”that sounds like some good deeds we can do” mishima favored those requests over the stalker

”well then let’s get back in the van and continue forward”

mona reverted to van form and everyone entered back in to head off further down into mementos

* * *

_**deeper into mementos** _

everyone exited out and they confronted the man that stood there

”ahh bravo! the phantom thieves! have you come to take me down?” the man sounded arrogant and pompous 

”yeah but for this one it seems I’ll be the one to take you down”

”wooooo!! get em ren!” futaba cheered in the background

the shadow sneered at ren “you really think you can take me on?” he was very arrogant and had a smirk on his face as if he wasn’t going to lose

”you think you can take me on?” ren liked the thrill of a challenger 

”I think I can without any effort, you don’t look like much”

”then come at me if your so confident” ren gestured for the shadow to come at him

”then here I come!” the shadow took the taunt

he then changed from a human into an Obariyon

” _t-this is it!?!?_ ” everyone thought at the same time as they were completely caught off guard 

for such a heinous criminal he turned into such a weak and small shadow

kinda symbolic

but at the same time

”here I go!” he went to make a dash towards ren who just stood there watching it happen

a complete waste of time

the shadow ran up to ren and dealt a blow to ren’s leg as he wasn’t tall enough to even reach ren’s abdomen

the shadow jumped back and had a satisfying smile on his face as he thought his attack knocked ren back or made him too scared to even move

ren still was too shocked from disappointment to even think

everyone else was also speechless as they watched on

” **this is really the criminal we’ve been searching for?** ”

” _i-i guess.._ ”

” **what a waste of time I mean look at him, he looks like a complete wimp** ”

arsene couldn’t believe this was the big criminal they were going against

” _so do you wanna deal with him? or should I just..._ ”

” **i got it...tch to think this was some huge criminal** ”

arsene fully popped out of ren and used a heavy curse spell on the small shadow destroying it and reverting it back to a human

” **what a waste..** ” arsene returned back into ren

the guy sat there on his knees as he had been defeated

in one strike no less

”I lost...how could this be..?” he seemed completely out of it

”now would you kind and tell me why did you commit those crimes?” ren might as well have interrogated the guy and asked why he’s going over and committing crimes

”crimes? what crimes?” the guy was confused

”didn’t you commit crimes in Shibuya?”

”no I just put that message on the phan site to see if you guys would respond”

”...”

”WHAT!?” ren was in utter shock and dismay

”yeah I just decided to see if you guys would’ve respond so I put that message to see if you would..”

”why would you-“ ren was cut off as ryuji stomped over to him

ryuji grabbed him by the shirt and lifted him up and started to shake him around

”you asshole we have lives too you know! we didn’t come here to eff around you bastard!”

”I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!”

”if you were sorry you wouldn’t have put that message on the damn site!”

”I won’t do again I swear I learned my lesson”

ryuji dropped his grip on the man’s shirt and he fell on the ground pretty hard

”I swear if I see your name again on that site you’ll be leaving here in bruises!”

”ok I won’t do it again I promise!”

the man disappeared leaving ren and ryuji to stare at nothing

”great, we had to deal with someone with some stupid relationship problems then a god damn prank caller who just wasted our time!”

“at least we had some fun right?”

ryuji turned to ren with an angry look on his face

”do not give me that we still help changed people hearts! I was preparing to sweat and bust my ass! but noooo we have to deal with some small time issues! why’re we even here at this point!” ryuji was pissed off and infuriated 

“at least we showed futaba the ropes”

”whatever! cat turn back into a van so we can leave”

”don’t order me around! but sure we can go”

morgana reverted back into a van and the gang drove off out of the there

ryuji sat in the back seat staring out of the window still angry to what happened

”what a complete shit show”

”I wanted blood yet there wasn’t any!” futaba spoke up about her disappointment to what had happened

”now, now we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves. no one got hurt and we all ended up doing pretty fine..right?”

”whatever robot” futaba mumbled as she stuffed her face into her knees

”you know what would be interesting is if we encountered the reaper” morgana said even though he was a van

”wait you could talk?” shiho said surprised

”yeah...I always did?”

”oh..carry on”

”anyways the reaper is this super strong shadow that could easily destroy you in like one hit, I’m pretty sure it only spawns if we stay in an area for too long”

”good to know, now I’ll remember to not stay in an area for long mona” makoto said as she was now more knowledgeable about mementos

”boooo, party pooper” futaba was irritated as there seemed to be no fun for her to view in mementos

the group eventually made it out of mementos unscathed

* * *

_**yongen-jaya** _

futaba stomped angrily to leblanc. she seemed unsatisfied and irritated

”well did you have fun learning about how we do requests futaba?”

”no! come let’s waste of time!”

”it has its ups at times”

”well I didn’t see anything worth my time! I would’ve rather have watched that stupid spin off of Phoenix Ranger then to have gone through that”

”you really are adamant about this” morgana said as he laid on ren’s shoulder exhausted

”of course I am! I’m morally pissed off!” futaba pouted as she walked up to the leblanc door and stepped in

the two stepped inside

”we’re home!” ren announced

”welcome home!”

the two looked up to see a man in a grey overcoat wave to them

to futaba it was just some old geezer in an overcoat

”dad...what are you doing here?” but to ren it was his father sitting in front of the counter

morgana hid away back into ren’s bag

”just stopping by for coffee...and who’s that next to you?” kazuma pointed at the person hiding behind ren

ren looked down to see futaba hiding her face behind ren

”that’s just futaba I’m pretty sure you remember her from a few years back” sojiro was behind the counter cleaning it up before he left for the night

”oh little futaba? Isshiki’s daughter?”

”that’s the one” sojiro looked over to ren and futaba “futaba you don’t have to hide behind ren it’s someone you know”

futaba slowly peeked her head and looked at kazuma who had a big smile on his face

”you may not remember me but I knew your mother and I believe we met when you were only 8”

futaba stood there trying to remember if she ever saw him before until it clicked

”! you were the one who kept mocking me and always made me mad with that stupid nickname!”

”what? orange head?”

”that and you kept making stupid puns too!” futaba remembered how he used to also mess with futaba and treat her like a small child..which she was as she was 8 at the time

”orange you glad you remembered me?” kazuma laughed loudly

”why you!” futaba walked over and proceeded to repeatedly hit kazuma’s arm

”wait dad you knew futaba?”

”oh yeah” kazuma put his hand on futaba’s head so that she could hit him while futaba struggled to try to hit him “I always come to Tokyo for at least a week to keep my affiliates in check” kazuma looked to sojiro with a smug look

”can it” sojiro wasn’t willing to deal with his antics

”yeah I usually always come here except for that one summer a few years back when you came instead of me”

”oh right..”

“anyways I’m glad I stopped by to see little futaba here”

”well I’m gonna go make some curry, you want some?”

“curry? I wouldn’t want to overstep my boundaries and take too much of your kindness”

”it’s fine dad just sit there and I’ll make some, futaba you want some?”

”I haven’t had curry in so long this better be good otherwise this day will be a complete waste of my time” futaba had at least a little hope for today to not be a complete bore and a complete waste

ren laughed “then I’ll get to work”

ren headed upstairs to set down his bag and to change into his apron

”remember futaba you should concentrate on ren’s cooking, you wouldn’t wanna miss a single beat”

”I won’t..” futaba didn’t think much of what he said

* * *

ren was nearly finished cooking while the two sat there waiting patiently

sojiro chuckled as he pulled out a cigarette “never knew I’d see the day where you’re actually sitting down and not trying to figure out a case”

”there’s not much going on now with the phantom thieves running about but if my hunch is right I should be even closer to my end goal. but I’ve learned patience is key for this”

ren finished cooking and he put tow hot steaming plates of curry on the counter in front of the two

they eyed down the golden steaming curry that laid in front of their eyes

”this is quite something” kazuma poked at it

”who cares? thank you for the food!” futaba dug into it immediately and squealed in delight as it was delicious

”so then futaba how is it?”

”delicious!”

”good to know, dad what about you”

kazuma took a first bite and once he swallowed he started to cough

”how spicy is this?” kazuma couldn’t handle spicy foods pretty well compared to his son who could take them just fine

but his father struggled with it, which is why he usually orders mild everything

”here dad drink this” ren handed his father a glass of water

wirhiut a second thought kazuma chugged all of the water and then slammed the cup down while he panted

”why is this so spicy?”

sojiro laughed “I forgot how much you hated spicy foods and how you couldn’t stand to eat even one single jalapeño”

”those things are deadly” kazuma looked over to futaba who was nearly half done “how can you eat something so deadly”

futaba swallowed the mouthful of food she was eating and then smiled at kazuma “it’s good that’s why” she then went back to eating the rest of the curry

”must be very appealing for you to eat dangerously”

”I guess you could say that”

after some struggling kazuma was able to eat half of the curry before futaba had to eat the rest that he had left over

”not bad but next time let me know when you’ll make the food spicy, you wouldn’t want your old man accidentally dying”

kazuma stood up from his stool “I’ll be heading out so I’ll see you another time ren”

”see ya”

kazuma left and sojiro our out his cigarette “anyways kid I’ll leave it to you to close the shop on my behalf” he walked over and looked to futaba “come on let’s go, you wanted to watch that movie with me didn’t you?”

”movie night!”

futaba happily got off of her stool and left the store while sojiro trailed behind her

ren put the dirty dishes in the sink and started to clean them

”you never told me your dad was here” morgana had come back down to talk to ren while ren was still doing the dishes

”I didn’t want you to meet him as he can be a bit of his own crazy”

”by the way he mentioned in how you went to Tokyo during the summer a few years back, does that mean you’ve been to Tokyo before?”

”yeah, what about it?”

”did you do anything extravagant while you were staying in Tokyo?”

”no nothing big and glamorous it was just for the holidays and for some dumb program summer camp thing I signed up for”

”nice what was it about?”

”boring stuff”

”like what?” morgana was curious

ren yawned and stretched his arms “too tied I’m gonna head to bed”

ren walked past morgana and went upstairs to change into clothes to sleep in

”what about the...never mind” morgana gave up as Rene as probably already changed and in bed

morgana followed ren upstairs so that the two could catch some rest and ready themselves for tomorrow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was meant to put this out yesterday but I now have a fever


	78. Preparations nearly complete

_**Tv Station** _

“we’ll be on air in 15 seconds!” the cameraman finished adjusting the camera and it was placed on the right position so that the host was in the right spot

the host took a quick breath to prep himself up before the recording went live

”and..we’re live in 3...2...1...”

”welcome back to afternoon show, on today’s topic we’ve brought a very special guest for our interview today, the highschool detective goro akechi!”

the camera unfocused and refocused capturing both the host and the special guest akechi

the recording that was currently being aired was an afternoon show where the host interviews famous people or personalities and for today’s episode akechi was the one being interviewed

they sat in small comfy chairs while the host had some cards with questions on the back in one of his hands

”so then akechi-san welcome, this is your first time being on our show” the host had a cheerful smile and voice as he spoke to akechi and the live audience

”thank you, I’m glad I could come on to your show”

”anyways for today’s segment we’ll be asking akechi some questions about how it is to be a big detective and to also have a massive break out during high school as well. with skills such as yours and to break such a huge case as the one a year ago at only 16! how does it feel?”

the crowd applauded at the success of a high school student being so filled with

”well it’s very monumental for me to do so, after all it’s quite difficult to be a detective”

”but to be a detective at your age! it’s very inspiring to us and the audience at home”

the crowd gave a loud applause

akechi kept up the same smile as he looked at the crowd

”anyways akechi-san, currently I have some questions that I would personally like for you to answer mixed in with some questions I have received from the crowd”

”well that sound like a splendid idea, let’s start the shall we?”

the host laughed “you’re a pleasure to have on”

”thank you very much”

”anyways without any further delay the first question we have here is ‘what are your thoughts about how the phantom thieves solving a nationwide crisis’ an interesting first start as you do have a negative take on these phantom thieves am I right?”

”well I do see them in a more negative light but my stance on them hasn’t changed. they are criminals using other people’s hearts for their own personal gain, I believe you’ve seen their little site of sorts”

”speaking about that topic the admin of this ‘phan-site’ has seem to put a poll up for people to vote on. what they are voting on? it seems they are voting on the next target for the phantom thieves to strike and akechi-san you are currently one of the top 5 candidates for the phantom thieves to strike next”

while the host was surprised to hear that akechi was one of the most highly requested hearts for the phantom thieves to steal akechi was still calm and he gave a small snicker and he sat back into his chair

“of course I would be one of the targets, I’ve bashed them openly for their inhumane treatment of people. my stance won’t change about this and I still hope people reconsider what I say, these thieves are in it for popularity and the way they go about it is clearly illegal and it shouldn’t be condoned as justice”

”wow, what a very good stance on the issue as expected of the great akechi, someone as insightful and knowledgeable as you would say something so open. no one else other than you seem to have a critical take on the issue”

”it’s because I’m a man of justice and what I see isn’t justice but the opposite of it. the thieves aren’t vigilante but wannabe heroes in capes and masks”

”always leave it to akechi to take the affirmative on the issue. but for now we’ll be back on the matter after this commercial break”

akechi had a moment to breath while the host quickly talked to the producers about the segment

akechi looked over to the crowd to not see big cheerful smiles or any happy banter

it seemed like the crowd were staring directly at akechi with scornful eyes

the more akechi kept staring the more rapid and erratic his breathing became and the more their dreary and dark the crowd’s faces seem to look towards him

”ok! we’ll be back on air in another minute” the cameraman said to the host and akechi

the host turned to look towards akechi

“akechi-san, are you ok?”

akechi snapped out of his train of thoughts “huh, oh I’m perfectly fine..”

”well you are sweating really badly, you can tell me if you need anything”

akechi put a hand to his head and felt the sweat drip and start to soak into his palm

”I’m fine it’s just the ventilation in here is making this room really stuffy” akechi lightly pulled on his shirt collar to cool himself down

”I’m sorry about that we’ve been having this issue for a while now but I also have to inform you that we may have to go on a different topic as the per the audiences complaints. they don’t seem to be keen on the topic”

”yeah..that’s fine I’ll be glad to go on a different topic”

”ok good to know”

the host turned back to the camera as they were about to go back in air while akechi sunk back into his seat

” _that damn ren..._ ”

the segment went on and instead of the topic being about the phantom thieves it went on about akechi’s duty as a detective and the challenges he faces as one

* * *

_**Later** _

it was few hours past

the recording had long since ended and now akechi was by himself walking through the streets of Tokyo

a buzz cane from his phone as he responded right away

”yes sir what is it now?”

[have you been able to take down that politician yet?]

”I just got off of work so I haven’t been able to take him out but I think I have all I need to take him out”

[well I need you to do it quick, he’s been gaining popularity and I don’t want it to hinder my own advancements]

”as you wish, I’ll do it as soon as I can”

the person on the other line hung up and akechi put away his phone

”great...might as well get this over with”

* * *

the politician in question was a man named Yasuhiro Murano

a rising politician in japan mainly starting up in Tokyo

known achievements for being this popular could easily be tied to his stance on crime and poverty around the country

he usually hung out in the town hall near Shinjuku as that’s where he normally gave out his speeches

although he has a squeaky clean background and no past criminal offenses he was hiding more than what he led on

akechi had been investigating him from time to time and he found out his true plan once he entered office

he was going to give all the power to himself and destroy anyone that opposed him in order to give himself power and so that his word would overwrite any law

it seemed he did have a disgustingly horrid and greedy side under that fake facade of his

but akechi didn’t really care for it in the end of the day

after all dead men don’t speak

akechi pulled out his phone and called out three keywords

once he said that he was teleported into his palace

* * *

the main keyword for his palace seemed to be heaven

probably due to his strong belief that his guidance will guide everyone and no one else’s other than his own could do it

another disgusting tragedy of greed consuming one’s soul

akechi appeared into the palace

he spawned on top of a cloud in the air

he walked over and looked down to see a desolate landscape of what seemed to be Tokyo

what was once a prosperous city now a charred toppled mess

from the giant skyscrapers that were now reduced to landfills to the small building that were charred due to a fire of some sort

seemed yasuhiro’s mind really was twisted

didn't matter though he’d be dealt with soon enough

akechi walked back to where he spawned and saw the giant golden arched gate standing in front of him

he walked forward and pushed through

the gate opened with ease as if it was meant to be opened

akechi stepped through to see if there was anything this else around but all he saw was the blue sky shooting down onto the bright white clouds

after some more walking around he still saw nothing else in sight

”this is pointless where is he?”

”where is who my child?”

akechi turned around to see the shadow of yasuhiro but instead of a normal suit and tie he was wearing a bright white robe and he had flower crown on his head

he was also accompanied with two cupids with golden harps as they played it and flew next to him

seemed he thought of himself as some kind of god

”I’m guessing you are yasuhiro’s shadow?”

”I believe so..now may I ask what’s your business here?” the shadow waited patiently with the same bright smile on his face

”I have some pretty big business I need to tell you”

”then why don’t we talk somewhere more appropriate then here”

”why not I’ll give you slight pity so let’s-“

before akechi could say more his had a striking pain directly on his head

” **KILL HIM, KILL HIM, KILL HIM!** ”

it wasn’t a physical attack but a stinging voice that was piercing through all of his thoughts and stopping him from trying to formulate anything else

the more he tried fighting through the pain the louder the voice became

akechi fell to one knee as he tried to keep his composure

”are you ok?” the shadow genuinely was worried for what was happening to akechi

” **KILL HIM, KILL HIM, KILL HIM!** ”

”NRGHHHH!!!”

akechi shot back up and took out his pistol and aimed it straight at shadow Yasuhiro’s chest

”woah there what’re you doing-“

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

before the shadow could say anything else akechi shot three shots directly at his chest

he slowly descended down backwards as his right hand held the his chests directly right where he had been shot

his eyes turned white and he stopped moving

akechi panted as his heart was pounding from his irregular breathing

he put his gun down as he saw the shadow no longer move but instead he started to dissipate into the air

”I guess I’m done here”

akechi held his head as he headed out while the palace around him started to shake

NOW LEAVING

after akechi escaped he reappeared near the city hall and he collapsed to the ground from exhaustion

he slowly stood back up and brushed off the dust that clung onto his clothing

his head still hurt and his ears rang from how loud that voice was

he shook his head

”anyways the job is done I guess I can go home-“

his phone buzzed and he saw who it was

”what do you want now?” akechi was annoyed by the caller

[woah, didn’t expect the rude attitude...wrong time?]

”no it’s fine I just finished a job, what do you want?”

[you mind swinging by the lab I have to show you something]

”are you done with what I wanted you to make or not?”

[yes now come here so you can pick it up]

”I see you have it ready and fresh way earlier than I expected. well done”

[just get over here]

the caller hung up and alechi made his way to the laboratory

* * *

**_Laboratory_**

akechi stepped through inside and went past the receptionist counter

he headed inside the elevator and he was lifted up to the floor where the lab was located

he stepped out of the elevator and he saw the familiar face working at his desk

there was no one else present at the time due to how late it was in the day

he walked over to his desk and peeled over to see him working on something

”so do you have it ready for me?”

”no, I lied about it but you’ll need this” the scientist handed him a pill bottle filled with small tablets inside

”what’s this?”

”some thing for that problem of yours”

”this isn’t what I asked for..”

”I saw how you were on tv and how badly you were sweating, you’ll need these for that anxiety issue you have”

”I don’t have anxiety”

”I’ve seen how you’ve been acting lately and I think it’s getting worse, take these so you can at least function normally without going berserk”

akechi reluctantly took the bottle and stuffed it into his pocket

”take one a day so you can walk peacefully”

”so what’s the deal with this?”

”you can’t deal with ren if you’re always worrying about his next move, you’re already ten steps ahead aren’t you? isn’t there someone who already is preparing to hijack that stupid website so that Okumura’s name would be on top?”

”that’s not what I meant, I meant why are you giving me antidepressants?”

”because I owe you, after all I have gained a lot of knowledge of cognitive psience and how to enhance the human psyche as well as help you become stronger and to be more efficient in your duties”

“I appreciate the thought but what I did wasn’t for you it was so that I didn’t have to deal with that woman”

”doesn’t matter I still have all of this research and all the tools I need to enhance ourselves to make us even stronger than before”

”suit yourself” akechi started to walk away from his desk

”oh and goro..”

akechi turned around to face him

”give him hell for me, we both know he deserves it”

”of course hisoka, he won’t get past me”

akechi walked away and stepped into the elevator

once he left he checked the phan site

he then saw who was on first all of a sudden

Kunikazu Okumura the ceo of Big Bang burger, someone who wasn’t even near the top 10 rankings now all of a sudden the one in first place

akechi smirked

”step 2 completed”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And akechi is nearly set for his plan  
> (2/3)  
> . . .


	79. Last days of summer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry late Christmas, Hanukkah, qwanza or whatever day it was for you

_**Leblanc** _

“maaan these last days aren’t going anywhere!” ryuji slammed his body in the table

ryuji and yusuke sat in a booth seat while ren was working behind the counter

”well what else is there to do?” ren leaned on the counter as he conversed with the three while drinking some coffee

”perhaps we could try to invigorate ourselves with our local surroundings” yusuke suggested with the same wordy explanation as always

ryuji sat back up and slump his body down the seat while groaning out of complete and utter boredom “duuuude, where is everyone? this is sooo boring”

”yuuki is working on his website, the girls are hanging out together and futaba I believe is outside acquiring a new game that came out” yusuke listed off why everyone wasn’t hanging out together

”aughhhhhhh” ryuji over dramatically groaned as he rested his chin on the table

”at least it’s not as hectic as usual” morgana peeked his head out of ren’s bag which laid on the two boy’s table

”wait I thought futaba was with them?” ren questioned as he assumed futaba was with the other girls

”no she said a while ago that she was going to Akihabara to buy a new video game”

”oh shit, by herself!?” ren immediately reacted with concern

”I believe so”

morgana spoke up ”speaking about talking, ren I think someone has been trying to contact you” morgana fumbled around in ren’s bag and grabbed his phone with his mouth “it’s been ringing and vibrating for a while now and it’s starting to get annoying”

ren without another thought rushed over to the table and grabbed his phone from morgana’s mouth

he checked his phone to see if there was any messages

when he did he saw all 50+ messages all of which were from futaba

most of the messages were repeats saying ‘HELP ME’ or ‘RENRENRENRENREN’ or a crying face or a mixture of all three which she kept spamming over and over again

there had to have been at least hundreds of messages now piled up all from futaba

after seeing the messages ren dropped his apron and hauled his bag out of the store as he sprinted to the station

”hey guys watch the store for me!”

and just like that ren was gone

ryuji picked up his head for a second just to see ren burst out of the store and then he slammed his head back on the table

”broooooo, there’s nothing to dooooooo”

”then would you mind helping me with my art, I already had ren help me so I wanted to know if you could spare me some kindness and help me out” yusuke slightly stood up as he leaned on his hands with a look of conviction

”as long as I don’t go naked we’re good”

”well then that defeats the purpose of that” yusuke sat back down in disappointment

”you wanted me to be painted naked!? hell no! wait did you do this to ren!?”

”no he refused but I compromised with him by painting him in a leotard inside of the church in Kanda”

ren had helped out yusuke earlier in the summer by helping him find some inspiration or in this case having him be the inspiration by dressing up in a leotard

good thing yusuke was the only person who was there to see it besides arsene who laughed at ren for the entire duration

ryuji had his jaw hanging in complete disbelief but he then had a huge smile on his face “you got a picture of that?”

”I do as reference for when I painted him”

”let me see that”

”but of course”

ryuji leaned over the table and looked at yusuke’s phone as he showed him the pictures of ren doing stupid poses while wearing a leotard

ryuji hadn’t laughed as hard like that in a while

* * *

_**Akihabara** _

ren entered their giant electronics store and searched around for any sign of futaba

”where could she be?” morgana was peeking out and tried to see if there was any sight of the girl anywhere

”jeez we’ll never find her with all the people here”

” **I’ll see if I can find her, it’s a good thing she stands out amongst the crowd it shouldn’t be much effort** ”

arsene flew off while ren tried to search for her

ren spent a few minutes searching all around the store to no avail

no matter where he searched he couldn’t find any trace of her

ren tried looking up to see if he could find arsene

he then saw the giant persona flailing his arms around in the air

ren then shuffled his way over to where arsene was pointing towards

as he passed through the crowds he saw more and more of what seemed to be futaba cradling her knees as she sat down in a corner

the closer he got the more he saw of her surroundings

eventually he was close enough to call out to futaba which he did

”futaba!”

which she immediately heard as saw ren through her tear ridden eyes as she gasped in delight

as ren got closer he then saw futaba in a corner sitting down cradling herself while crying

she also sat directly in front of a police officer which immediately scared ren as the officer had also turned to face ren

”d-did she attract the police?”

”she is a troublesome girl” morgana ducked his head into ren’s bag as to not attract attention

” **you should be fine, your dad is apart for he force after all** ”

” _that doesn’t mean I’m immune to punishments by the police_ ”

” **you worry too much** ”

“ _you underestimate too much_ ”

ren immediately froze in place while futaba charged towards ren and nearly tackling him off of his feet in the process while she rubbed her face and wiped her tears all over ren’s shirt

the police officer walked towards ren and futaba with a confused look on his face

”do you know this girl? she has been sitting here for a while and I couldn’t seem to get her to say anything to me” he asked as he stared at the small girl cling onto ren very tightly making him wonder if ren was being strangled by how tightly she was holding onto ren

”yeah I know her she’s...” ren then choked on his words

what should he say next? he couldn’t say they were friends that may be too conspicuous to pass through the guy and obviously saying that they are strangers or acquaintances is basically a jail sentence

”she’s..?” the officer raised an eyebrow

ren tried searching deep for an answer

and then it clicked in him

”m-my sister! yes she’s my little sister...hehe” ren gulped as the sweat dropped off of his forehead from how nervous he was

the officer’s eyes narrowed as he stared at ren to see if he was lying or if he was telling the truth

ren kept up a nervous smile as the officer stared at him

the officer then looked down to futaba “is this true?”

futaba slightly peeked her head out of ren’s shirt to stare at the officer and nod

”are you sure? you’re not lying to me?”

futaba nodded more throughly this time

”well then...make sure you don’t get separated next time”

the officer walked away leaving ren and futaba by themselves

”jeez..phew” ren wiped the sweat off of his head. he wasn’t good being near police officer and being questioned..for good reasons..even though his father was a detective

” **that was rough** ”

” _I’m so not good with police being so close to me_ ”

” **isn’t your dad a detective?** ”

” _doesn’t mean anything_ ”

futaba let go of ren and stood back a little to give ren some breathing room

”thanks for that I thought I could deal with large crowds but it seemed I couldn’t”

”why did you even go out here in the first place?”

”I wanted a game and I thought I could handle it” 

”I think you should go easier on yourself but at least you somehow made it all the way here” ren commended the fact that futaba somehow took a train all the way to Akihabara and then somehow entered the store

”does that mean I leveled up?” futaba had a huge grin on her face

”leveled up..? sure?” ren was confused

”woohoo!” futaba jumped up into the air simultaneously pumping her fists in the air “futaba sakura leveled up! but I still feel like I’m missing something...” futaba put her hand on her chin and she stood there pondering what was that missing something

”you mean like an item?” morgana looked over ren’s shoulder once more

it then dawned onto futaba “yeah! an item an order to meet my victory conditions, like a key item of sorts”

“so ren’s your key item”

”yeah and my brother I guess...wait if he’s my brother then that means I have a sibling! and that means good things like protection and gifts, bonus!”

” **nice job you have another little sister** ”

”now then as my brother you must pay for this as it’s your duty” futaba handed ren a game that hadn’t been paid for yet

”I’m not paying for this!”

”you must as per the requirements of being a brother”

”why should I though?”

”how many times have I saved your butt? hmmm?” futaba had a smug smile as she tried to look at ren who kept avoiding her sight lines

”fine then I’ll buy it for you...” ren gave in to futaba’s demands

”heck yeah! futaba wins!”

”IF you allow the girls to dress you and put makeup all over you in any way they see fit”

futaba’s cheerful attitude then turned into a horrified shiver as she realized what that meant

she had to willingly allow the girls to dress her like some doll for the game she wanted

as if them forcing a bathing suit on her was bad enough but they could make her do whatever they wanted

she didn’t even wanna think what they would do to a girl like her

futaba then slowly grabbed the game out of ren’s hands with her hands that shook out of fear and nervousness 

”I-I’ll buy it....” futaba said under her breath as she tucked the game close to her chest

”glad we’re on the same page” ren had a sadistic smile on his face

”demon...” futaba responded with a tear on her face

”demon? no, no I’m the devil!..ahaha” ren over dramatically laughed at futaba while he had his hands on his hips

then ren’s shoulder was tapped on

ren looked over to see it was the same police officer who found futaba alone and had questioned ren “sir I’m gonna have to ask you to turn it down a bit”

”s-sorry”

futaba ended up buying the game with ren and they left to go back to leblanc

* * *

_**Cafe somewhere in Shibuya**_

the four girls had gathered in Shibuya and were going on a food spree for parfaits and ice cream all around as they wouldn’t be available once school started back up

ann lead the group with shiho being her navigator while haru and makoto tagged along for the ride

currently they were at a cafe known for their desserts

makoto massaged her brow “is this all what we’re going to do for today?” she wasn’t planning on spending the day hunting for sweets

haru sat next to her eating an ice cream cone “I think it’s good for us to indulge ourselves after all we might not have another time for this”

shiho pointed at makoto with a doughnut in her hand “come on makoto you have to agree with her, this is pretty fun” shiho finished one of her many doughnuts that she bought along the way

makoto gave shiho a stern look of disapproval while shiho kept eating her snacks

“let’s not fight we’re here to spend the day having fun right shiho?” ann has a huge smile on her face

”you wanted ren to take you out somewhere didn’t you?” shiho could easily read ann and her fake smile was no exception

ann looked away “I don’t know what you’re talking about” she had a pout sprayed all over her face

she did want to hang with ren more and go on more dates but they didn’t do it as often as she hoped

“ann you’re about as see through as a window just let it out”

ann had a mean look as she looked at shiho as an attempt to sway her but it didn’t even faze shiho who kept a relaxed look on her face

ann gave up and continued to look away from shiho

”oh ann you’re so cute when you get like this”

the group laughed along with shiho except ann who still kept up her pout

whilst they were laughing and giggling haru got a buzz from her phone

”sorry I must take this”

she stood up from her chair and walked away to not disturb the group’s banter and to give herself total silence to take the call

”hello?”

[miss? It’s me, I’ve been informed that I must come pick you up at once]  
  
it was haru’s maid reiko who had called her

”why do I have to be picked up? did my father ask for me?”

[yes he has informed me to pick you up as there is important matters to discuss back home]

”ok, I’ll be waiting outside for you to pick me up, I’m in Shibuya”

[thank you miss]

haru hung up and turned back to the group keeping a weak smile as she sat back at the table

”like I said makoto you need to lighten up you wouldn’t want your circuit boards to fry” shiho snickered

”and you need to be more serious so that we don’t have to use any energy to constantly heal you, we deal with ryuji enough” makoto responded with a calm demeanor as she caught shiho where it hurt

”touché, you play dirty”

”I’m not the student council president for nothing”

ann noticed haru get back to their table “haru what’s wrong?”

”my father wishes to speak with me so I must go” haru bowed in front of the girls asking for forgiveness

”oh ok, well you should go then we shouldn’t disturb you two”

”right...” haru’s smile turned into a frown as she left the cafe

makoto looked on with concern as the other two return back to their casual chatting about random topics

she was the only one who was worried amongst the three as she had the knowledge about her father and his palace as haru had confessed to her a few months back

and after connecting the dots she hypothesized that haru was probably going to be ridiculed by her father and his corrupted heart

* * *

_**Later** _

the three girls had left the cafe and were walking over to the station

”so are we finished for today?” makoto asked the two girls who were still chatting about sweets

ann turned around with a huge smile plastered on her face “we still have one more stop to go~”

”which is?”

”leblanc, of course”

“you just wanna see ren” shiho wasn’t tolerant enough to see the two together being overly romantic

”I could be but is that an issue?”

”you two need to being lovey when we’re not there, at least promise us that”

”depends if ren isn’t like that”

shiho irritatedly sighed

they walked over to the station in order for them to head to leblanc for their last stop of the day

* * *

_**Leblanc** _

they entered the cafe to see the ryuji, yusuke and futaba sitting in one booth seat while morgana sat on a stool and ren stood behind the counter with his apron on

“oh hey you guys! what’s up?” ryuji loudly greeted the three as they came to sit down next to the guys

”nothing we were going on a spree to any bakery or ice cream parlor for any sweets” shiho spoke with a satisfied look as they were able to visit all of the best shops they could

”but don’t you get sweets nearly every week?”

”it’s different these were summer only type of sweets”

”nice, you got any spare?” ryuji was hoping that they had spared some for the group

”nope~ we ate all of it”

”how are you not fat?”

”I still exercise! just because I’m not doing volleyball doesn’t mean I dropped my routine”

”so, whats the reason for being here?” ren could already guess the answer without even needing to guess “want some cookies and coffee?”

”hell yeah”

”where’s haru?” futaba counted and don’t see haru alone with them

“she had to go so we came by ourselves”

”also where’s the side character?”

”he went to go fix his website so he isn’t here”

futaba shook her head “I’ll go help him out, that bozo doesn’t understand how to code let alone run a website”

”don’t you want some cookies?” ren asked as futaba was already almost out the door

”give it to me later or tomorrow” futaba left the store and presumably went to her house and back to her room in order to help mishima run the site and fix any issues he was dealing with

”well that’s one less mouth I have to feed” ren turned to the group “so what’ll it be cookies or curry?”

“that’s hard...what to choose” ann pondered which she should have

”do you have enough ingredients? doesn’t boss tell you to not use the ingredients if there wasn’t enough?” makoto being the responsible person she was worried if ren was using too much of sojiro’s kindness

”no it’s fine he trusts me with the shop he even lets me run the shop when he’s not here and I’m sometimes the guy that buys the ingredients for him when he can’t”

”so you’re the co owner of the shop? does that mean we get discounts? such as cookies?” shiho was drooling at the thought of some nice fresh cookies

”no if I did that you’d use it as an excuse to leech off of me”

”at least I gave it a shot”

”anyways sit back and I’ll give you guys some of the best curry I’ve made in a while”

the group cheered while ren started to work on cooking for the group 

* * *

_**Okumura household**_

haru entered in and searched all over for her father who was nowhere in sight

”this way miss” reiko guided haru through her father’s conference area

eventually reiko stopped in front of a door and opened it slowly

”pardon my intrusion but I have brought the young mistress” reiko bowed in front of two men

one was an old gentleman who had dark black hair and a black suit with a white under shirt and a red checkered ascot

the other was a bit younger with light brown hair, a bright white suit and a lavender undershirt

”if you’ll excuse me I’ll be off now” reiko bowed once more and left the room leaving the two men and haru to themselves

”father...who is this”

”why it is your fiancé, Sugimura” haru’s father said in an obviously fake cheerful manner

”my fiancé?” haru was caught off guard and confused with this sudden revelation 

”it’s a pleasure to meet you miss” Sugimura bent on one knee and kissed the back of haru’s hand only for haru to retract her hand from his grasp

”it’s a pleasure to meet you but father why must I have a fiancé?”

”well you need to be married sweetie it’s the only way to be truly happy and Sugimura is the right one for you”

”but I don’t wish to be married I don’t think I’m ready for such a commitment”

”now don’t be so foolish I personally picked out sugimura just for you after all I want you to be happy”

”your father only wishes the best for you and I want to live the best life with you haru-chan” sugimura also had a deceitful smile and haru could tell there was a more sinister facade under it

”that’s very sweet but I must decline I don’t think I’m ready for such a commitment”

”this isn’t something you can decline haru, now be a good girl and figure out what to do. I have more important meetings to attend to” haru’s father irritably dropped his facade and walked out of the room as he had neither the patience nor the time to deal with haru

now it was just haru and sugimura left together

”I hope you respect my decision but I do not wish to marry you so abruptly” haru politely and respectively bowed in front of sugimura

sugimura lightly laughed “sorry but that’s not a decision you can make out of your own will haru”

”what?”

haru looked back up to face sugimura who had dropped his cheerful smile into an evil sadistic look that terrified haru

”listen my father didn’t make these deals for nothing after all your father wants power so he could secure a spot for the running of prime minister and in order for that to happen he arranged for me and you to be married”

sugimura pulled no punches and bluntly stated the real truth to haru’s horror

”what do you mean”

”let me put it simple for someone as plain and basic as you could understand. your father wants power and in order for him to get that he offered you, your body, your mind, all of it to me and I can do whatever I want with it and he won’t even bat an eye”

sugimura slowly walked closer to haru while haru was being backed up into a wall

“face it haru, you’re just a tool for your father to use, and now be a good tool for me and let me use you”

that last line completely terrified haru and caused her to scream

”miss! what’s wrong?” reiko at the perfect time busted in to see the two’s current position

sugimura backed off of haru and straightened the collar of his suit out

”if you’ll excuse me I have one more thing to discuss with your father” sugimura casually walked out of the room as if nothing had happened at all

once he did reiko looked back to haru who was breathing very erratically and uncontrollably

she walked over and put her into her arms as she tucked haru’s face into her chest

she allowed haru to bawl her tears out 

”it’s ok he’s gone now miss”

haru kept crying into her uniform for a while after that

* * *

_**Haru’s room** _

a few hours past since that time and haru was now in her bed

she kept seeing the messages pop up on her phone

she never understood technology really well but she at least knew how to message people

it was one of the biggest joys she could get in her day

[Re: hey haru! I saved some curry from when I made some earlier today]

[H: thank you I appreciate the thought]

[F: hey what about me!?]

[Re: you left earlier but I have your share right here but it all depends if you get here before I eat it]

[F: meanie!]

[Ry: you got any more leftover?]

[Re: I got this one that was for futaba but whoever gets it first get to eat it]

[F: hey!]

[Ry: fair game]

[F: you’re dying if you think you’re taking that from me]

[Ry: watch me!]

[F: why you!!!!]

haru started to type

’hey I don’t mean to be a bother but I need some help-‘

she then deleted her message before she sent it

one thing haru hated was being a burden to anyone especially her friends

so she decided to delete the message as she hoped she would find a way to resolve it herself

she instead decided to release a more lighthearted message

[H: may I join the running?]

[F: not you too!!]

[Re: let the hunger games begin]

[F: just you wait karma comes back you know]

[F: >:p]

that last message made haru giggle

even though most of her giggling had tears mixed in as well

she couldn’t get over what had happened to her earlier and whenever she thought of it she couldn’t help but cry

that night she ended up crying until she eventually fell asleep as she thought of a plan to fix things herself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is where we’ll be going into the okumura arc
> 
> Also sad haru


	80. Back to school

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn I haven’t uploaded in a decade how have y’all been?

_**Underground walkway** _

mishima, ryuji and ren we’re walking around in the mall trying to pass the time while the train was making its round towards the station

”broooo summer is already gone, and we spent it all saving futaba” ryuji slumped his head down

”we didn’t spend all of our time doing that we did more than just save futaba” morgana bickered with ryuji as always

”shut up we could’ve spent it more and we could’ve seen the girls in their bathing suits way more if we did”

“I wouldn’t mind that..” mishima was trying to remember that time at the beach and all the women he saw in their bathing suits

”now we’re talking!” 

”you are hopeless” morgana shook his head disapprovingly 

“you wouldn’t understand you’re just some luggage cat who only sees things through ren, without him you’d be useless and lost”

”that’s not true! right ren?” morgana turned to face ren

”you’re vital to our team and our friendship”

that wasn’t the exact response morgana was looking for but he took it regardless as it still held some sentiment

”that’s because ren is still a bonehead but without him you’d be nothing, you weren’t anything when haru took you in”

morgana’s head shot back to ryuji and his ginormous smile

morgana loudly growled at ryuji 

“morgana your nails are digging through my bag” ren could feel morgana’s nails start to pierce through his bag and onto his uniform

”my bad”

as the group kept walking they walked past a magazine stand that caught ryuji’s attention for a particular reason

”hey guys check this out!” ryuji pointed at the magazine stand

the other two boys turned around and they glanced at the stand ryuji was pointing to

it was lined with celebrities on the front cover but most of them were very flashy and gaudy models doing some explicit poses

the two immediately wrote it off as ryuji being ryuji with his talks about women and how he’d want a hot girlfriend

”we get it ryuji you like girls now can get a move on?”

”not that!” ryuji took the magazine he was talking about and showed it to the group

the two and morgana who decided to peek his head out again got a closer look to what they were meant to be viewing

what they saw was pretty surprising

it was a tabloid magazine talking directly about principal kobayakawa and his whole scandal dealing with kamoshida and how it was a coverup

”isn’t that the principal at your school?” morgana said as he looked to ren for answers

”yeah that is..did they get him?”

”yeah it looks like it” ryuji looked at the magazine and then back to the group “they got that bastard for all that he’s been trying to keep a secret, did you guys know he was trying to keep it a secret?” 

”no..? but i did think he was trying to save face”

” **at least he’s been caught so there’s less to deal with** ”

” _you wanted to deal with him? for what reason?_ ”

” **shitty individual, he tried to keep the kamoshida stuff behind him and he probably allowed him to do all of what he did** ”

” _well yeah he did do all of that, maybe we should deal with him later_ ”

” **yeah but the media seems to have taken care of that so there’s no need** ”

” _perfect_ ”

“anyways what do you think about the school? I mean what will happen to it? you think we’ll be suspended? you think they’ll target us? do you-“ mishima was being a little overly paranoid

”yuuki no one is going to get us we’ll be fine now let’s go before we’re late for the train”

the group hustled over to the gate in order for them to get on the train for school

* * *

_**School** _

the school seemed all more talkative than usual

seemed that magazine was no joke and it showed

all of the students were huddled in small groups taking about it as it not only was shown on magazines but even the news as ‘a whole scandal orchestrated by one lying principal’ 

ren walked into his class and saw ms kawakami had a bit of a distressed look on her face as she stood waiting for the bell to ring

”what’s wrong kawakami-san?”

”it’s sensei, and I’m pretty sure you know about this magazine that going around the news and the school right”

”yeah I saw it when I was coming here”

”seems not even the teachers knew about this and it’s already driving me it’s, this may get some of us teachers in a bit of an issue since you guys will be going on a trip soon”

”a trip?”

”I’ll inform the class soon enough so just go and sit down and wait for the bell to ring”

”can do”

ren walked away and he walked over to his desk where ann was waiting patiently for him

ren placed his bag down and took his seat just as ann turned around to talk to him

”say did you here about-“

”the magazine? it’s everywhere apparently and on the news”

”it’s almost as big as the medjed situation” morgana stuck his head out of ren bag

ren saw this and quickly stuffed him into his desk without anyone noticing the yelp he made as he got inside

”anyways besides morgana being morgana this is pretty huge”

”yeah I know the teachers also seem on edge as well”

”they aren’t apart of it though the principal is the only one who has been trying to keep this a secret”

”that asshole we should take him down” 

“it’s fine he’s already been taking down by the media there’s no need to step in, but maybe he’ll step down or be arrested”

”that’s works in our favor but there’s something else we have to talk about”

”we do? what else is there to talk about-“

ann poked ren on the nose playfully cutting him off

”we haven’t been on another date..” ann moped as she kept pressing on ren’s face

”but we’ve been to cafes and other places”

”I don’t count those , those are like mini dates I wanna dress up and go places”

”you really are high maintenance” ren laughed “but I don’t mind pampering you” ren poked back 

”stooop”

”you started first”

the two ended up playfully poking eachother for the time being until class started 

the bell soon rang and everyone had sat down at their seats while ms kawakami had to settle everything in

”hello students I hope you’re well rested from your summer vacation but for today’s home room I need to inform all about the trip you’ll be going on starting Monday”

the class started to applause and cheer

”the trip to Hawaii I forgot thats Monday” ann turned back to look at ren “that’ll be perfect for a date”

”a date out of the country sounds pretty extravagant doesn’t it?”

”it does!”

“now then” ms kawakami started to get control of the class again “I expect you all to be on your best behavior and for none of you to cut loose at no given time, right?” she slightly glanced towards ren

” _what did I do?_ ”

” **be the talk of the school, nearly fight kamoshida, surround yourselves with the biggest outcasts of the school and the fact that your home room teacher is also your maid you pay 5,000 yen for which isn’t a bad deal in my opinion** ”

” _I see your point, but what would you know about the maid market?_ ”

” **i’ve seen some magazines when we walk around and you know those old magazines you had? you know the ones before you met ann?** ”

” _those weren’t mine they were ryuji’s when he tried lending some to me after the whole maid situation after I kept pestering him about it, I’ve never owned any_ ”

” **still 5,000 yen for an old hag for a maid is pretty good** ”

”yeah 5,000 for someone as old as her that’s a good dea-“

ren had accidentally spoken out loud which kawakami could hear and she didn’t skip a single heart beat with her chalk throw that sped through the air like a bullet and hit directly on ren’s forehead even kicking his head back a bit due to the force of the impact

ren recovered and looked to kawakami who was glaring at him

”anyways that settles homeroom” she dusted her hands off and left the classroom

ann turned around “what was that?”

”nothing, let’s meet the group during lunchtime though when we get the chance”

”sure why not”

ren and ann got a notification from the group chat

[F: afterschool, Shibuya walkway, I’ll be waiting]

”afterschool it seems”

”alright~”

ren rubbed his head where ms kawakami had struck while ann was being questioned by her classmates about her English skills

” **shoulda kept quiet** ”

” _I’m not aware enough_ ”

* * *

_**Lunchtime** _

ren hung out on the roof alone by himself

he stood against the fence that kept people from carelessly wandering off the roof just enjoying the view while people minded their business below

”so what’s the issue? we’re here for a reason”

except morgana was also with him and he was confused by why ren was just standing around as he proceeded to look around on the roof

”not really” ren turned around and sunk to the ground sitting down and watching morgana jump around on stuff “just wanted to get some fresh air and I thought you wanted some as well”

”well thanks for that but is there anything you wanna talk about?”

ren rested his hand on the side of his face as he tried to think of something “you still like ann?”

”that’s what we’re gonna talk about!?”

ren laughed as he fully laid on the ground “just joking”

”jeez honestly you are the one who ticks me off the most sometimes”

”even more than ryuji?”

”wayyy more than ryuji if you keep this up”

ren started to laugh more 

the roof doors creaked open as haru came through the doors with an oversized and a most likely expensive water can with her as she was probably going to water the plants on the roof of the school

”oh ren! what’re you doing here?” haru was surprised by ren’s appearance on the roof

”just hanging around doing nothing important”

”he’s being a weirdo” morgana sat on a desk that was on the rooftops “what are you doing?”

”I came to water my plants up here”

haru was talking to morgana as she began to water the tomato plants that sat on the roof

”cool do you usually do this?”

”mona-chan you have been with me for when I’ve done this”

”oh right...anyways how’s reiko i haven’t spoken to her” morgana asked about haru’s maid

”she still believes you are a pest which isn’t true but she is a bit hard to please”

morgana recollected about how her maid didn’t really appreciate morgana’s abrupt and unwelcomed stay at haru’s suite with her

it bugged her when she vacuumed and had to clean up all the hairs morgana left lying around

” **she looks unwell** ”

” _does she?_ ”

” **she does, her posture and how she walks with that water can seem off but maybe it’s just because of how heavy it is** ”

”hey haru!” ren sat back up to speak to haru to at least see if arsene’s hypothesis was right

”yeah?”

”you ok? you seem pretty tense”

haru looked to ren confused and concerned for her appearance “what do you mean I look tense”

“I don’t know you seem a little off putting, something on your mind?”

haru had thought ren already caught on so she decided to be a little honest with him

“it’s just a little stress from my father that is all..”

there was truth held into what haru had said and ren could see that but he was perplexed by the stress from father part that she mentioned

”what do you mean stress from you father? is it familial issues or something?”

”I guess you may call it that but I assure you it’s nothing serious that we should be talking about”

“well most of the group has had family issues, makoto, yusuke, futaba and ryuji even though none of us have met his mom”

”oh I actually met his mother i even showed up to his birthday party when she asked me even though ryuji told me to go home and to never speak of this again-oh no!”

haru spoke too much but she at least drove the conversation into another topic

”wait you’ve met his mom!? and he didn’t even invite me to his birthday party!” ren had a betrayed look on his face

”I think he doesn’t like celebrating birthdays and his mother must embarrass him on a daily basis because ryuji seemed to be a bit more attentive to his surroundings for his mom when he’s out and about”

”well I’m gonna give him a piece of my mind because he didn’t tell me about his birthday, speaking about that I should probably ask ann for hers just in case if it’s coming near”

”ask shiho, perhaps ann would keep it a secret”

”thanks for letting me know, morgana let’s go”

ren stood up grabbed his bag and grabbed morgana

”wait don’t forcefully stuff me-mrph!”

ren stuffed morgana without a second thought through morgana’s pleas of refusal

after he stuffed he stuffed him into his bag ren left the rooftops leaving haru by herself

”maybe I should’ve asked ren for help”

haru stayed up on the roof for a while watering the plants until she had to go back down due to the bell ringing

* * *

_**Afterschool**_

it was afterschool and the entire gang had met up together at the school gate

they were all headed towards the station to meet with futaba and yusuke who were probably waiting for their arrival already

”like I said I don’t care about birthdays after all the only people I’ve celebrated with was my mom and the main reason I hate my birthdays is because my father was around durin then, if I knew you would’ve cared I would’ve at least let you buy me a cupcake and I don’t even feel like I deserve it so it fine”

ryuji was stating the reason why he didn’t like celebrating his birthday

but ren wasn’t having it

”come on ryuji I would’ve at least helped you try to get a date or something”

”not needed if it’s to be a birthday gift, you can miss me with any of that I don’t care”

”we’ll now I’m gonna memorize your birthday and make sure I get to spike you into a cake when it comes around again”

”how much do you hate me!?”

”enough to stuff you in birthday cake”

”awww come on it can’t be that worth it”

”I must because it’s my duty and your friend”

”then I’ll be ready when you do”

both ren and ryuji shook hands not in a normal business way but in a more brotherly fashion like they were two siblings agreeing to a ‘friendly little challenge

makoto sighed “is this how we’re starting?”

”let’s just go to the station and find futaba and yusuke” ann grabbed onto ren’s shirt collar and started to drag him to the station

ren realized what was happening and he tried to sway ann to let go of his shirt so that he could walk properly and so he wouldn’t look like some dog being dragged by it’s owner

”huh ann you can let go”

ann pouted probably because of her jealously when seeing ryuji and ren deepen their bonds

”I don’t wanna”

”ehh?”

” **you did something wrong** ”

” _like what?_ ”

” **you'll find out when she’s done with you** ”

ren had a confused look the entire way to the station as everyone looked on following them as they all went to the station

”we really have to endure this every day?”

makoto shook her head

haru giggled as she stared at her “I enjoy this quite a lot to be honest it’s pretty entertaining”

”yeah you can’t lie makoto” mishima turned to face makoto as they walked “this is kinda entertaining to watch better than all the boring stuff in school”

”to some extent sure but it can be a bit of a bother”

the three looked forward to see ann yell at ren while ren was seemingly trying to understand why he was being yelled at, all the while ann still had a grip on his shirt collar

”it’s just another day in our group” makoto smiled as she saw ryuji try to back up ren while shiho yelled at him with a side of morgana stepping in as well to bicker with the group

“yep..just another day for the phantom thieves”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought I’d put this all in one chapter
> 
> But instead I’ll stuff the data stealing chapter for next time as I feel that’ll have some more juicy story to dig through


	81. Up for grabs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hefty chapter for today
> 
> Filled with a lot

_**Shibuya walkway** _

the group had taken the train to Shibuya and they already were on their way there

they eventually saw both futaba and yusuke

futaba who was sitting on the floor tapping away at her laptop while yusuke was standing above her drawing

”hey you guys did we take long?”

yusuke and futaba looked up to see the group

”no you came in at just a perfect time, Inari was patronizing me and I couldn’t take it anymore” futaba grossed her arms and she had an irritated look

“I’m not sure what you mean by that I was released from school early and I came to pick you up before you started sobbing”

”I was not crying!!” futaba was repeatedly punching yusuke’s leg as she tried to silence him before he spoke about what had happened

”but didn’t you nearly start crying before I came here though”

futaba pouted as she glared at yusuke who didn’t react at all

”anyways you two before we start attacking eachother, futaba why did you wanna meet here?” ren tried to calm the tension between the two and assess the real issue at hand

”right I had all call you here to discuss the big move I wanna make with you all. this being my first operation it has to be a big one as to top our popularity even more”

”I have my site, isn’t that enough?” mishima chimed in with his website talks

”no your website isn’t what I’m getting at, and it isn’t needed. what we need is to find out who or what is causing these mental shutdowns”

seems futaba wasn’t messing around with a normal target

no, she wanted to go straight for the top and attack the source of the mental shutdowns

the group looked to eachother before ryuji spoke up already accepting the plan even though it hadn’t even started yet

”hell yes! if we take the down the guy starting these attacks then maybe we can finally be the celebrities we were meant to be! just think about we’ll be living large and mighty and we’ll make the world better by the second!”

ryuji was certainly...ecstatic but his plan seemed to lack logic and the group agreed that they couldn’t merely just come out as the phantom thieves

”whoa! living large and like celebrities I’m not sure if I could handle that” shiho didn’t think stardom and fame was for her

”I mean that does sound cool just imagine if we became full on celebrities the amount of attention we’d get” mishima was daydreaming and imagining all the interviews he’d recieve on national television it would make him a huge star

makoto sighed “ryuji that wouldn’t work we still have to keep our appearances, we aren’t doing this for fame or infamy”

ryuji groaned in disappointment “aughh what do you mean? for what reason do we have to if we take out all of our enemies”

ren shook his head “ryuji the police would be on us, if some amateur kids like us hold a power like this than they would be all over us asking for info on how to obtain it. this isn’t something simple to just say, if we came out it would change all of our lives and it would not only be a governmental issue but an issue that the entire world would need to take notice of”

”you take the fun out of everything...” ryuji kicked the ground as he mumbled to himself

”anyways that’s basically why we can’t become the celebrity you want to be, but before we get sidelined we need a plan to get information on these cases which is why I’ve gathered you all here today” futaba went back to her original plan for this group meeting

”so that’s all we’re here for?” ann had a hard time trying to decipher the entire group’s banter

”yep now then leader what is your first course of action?” futaba looked to ren for his take on the plan futaba wanted to go with for the group

”I guess I have to as leader” ren stood there trying to concoct a plan

the issue was with the plan wasn’t the plan itself but the end goal

take down the cause of the mental shutdown case

but would the group be able to take someone as skilled as akechi?

its true that they could all just gang up on him and overwhelm him but knowing akechi he probably needs a more intricate plan than just that to get a jump on akechi and akechi would probably just have something in his sleeve that he would use

he might as well just feign ignorance and stay quiet until he finds a way to take care of akechi

which might be hard as he has no direct way of luring him

but maybe when he does he could tell the group about him

” **just come clean** ”

” _!!!_ ” ren was surprised by arsene’s sudden input

” **you’re going to have to eventually tell them...why wait?** ”

” _no there must be another way_ ”

” **you and your ‘other ways’** “

arsene flew away while ren’s mind was now clouded with even more thoughts than he could deal with

”ok you take too long I’ll make the plan”

futaba got impatient and decided to make the plan herself

”first off we’re gonna need some information on these shutdown cases, luckily we have some people who hold such information”

”really who?” ryuji was curious to who these two people are

”well then makoto I know that your sister is a big prosecutor for the SIU so she must have some info”

”how do you know about my sister?”

”I know a lot of info about your guy’s personal lives but besides that, makoto I know you have a sister who’s pretty prominent as a prosecutor and so I need you to get some information from her”

”how would I do such a task?” makoto couldn’t catch up with anything futaba was saying

”does she own a computer or does she write all of her notes down”

”she has a laptop and-“

”perfect” futaba cut makoto off as she only needed to hear she had a computer “now then you’re gonna be needing this” futaba pulled out a flash drive and held it out to makoto

”this?” makoto took the flash drive from futaba

she had expected something a bit more extreme or out of the ordinary but it was just a simple plain flash drive that futaba painted a green skull on

it only seemed to be just a normal flash drive to her but it’s true power hadn’t be informed to her yet

”it’s a drive that holds a special program of mine that’ll take her data without her noticing bypassing any password or firewall she has set up, basically copying and extracting the data without her even noticing it got stolen” futaba pushed her glasses up like the genius she was

“would I just push this in her laptop and let it go through?”

”yep, that’s all it takes”

”mmm, I’m so sure if I can’t do it” makoto was getting overwhelmed by the pressure of doing such a task

”aww come on it’s literally just sticking it in her laptop and making sure he darn thing takes all of what’s on her laptop”

”but it’s too scary, I haven’t done something like this to my sister at all”

”getting cold feet prez?” shiho decided to poke fun at makoto a little bit

”I’m not getting cold feet?”

”kinda sounds like it from the strong and book worm president at shujin” shiho poked makoto’s shoulder as she kept a smug look on her face

makoto turned to shiho and glared directly at her “I can do it, just watch me”

”ok president of shujin academy” shiho still mocked makoto

”so then that’s her but what does my father have to do with any of this?” ren was waiting for futaba to move to him with her planning

”well I’m not so sure, I knew the guy but I never saw him with any equipment”

”wait, wait, wait your dad is here in Tokyo?” ryuji asked completely dumbfounded by this sudden fact

”yeah he is here in Tokyo as apart of the special investigations team and he has shown up a few times to leblanc even though I’ve told him not to”

”dude what’s he like?” ryuji wanted to know how ren’s old man was like

“he’s my dad and he's annoying, that’s all you need to know”

futaba nodded along with the ren’s quick description of his dad

”has futaba met him before?”

”my dad knows sojiro and he knew futaba’s mom before she had passed away and he knows futaba slightly”

”he knows boss? that’s kind of odd” mishima also had his comments about ren’s dad

”I’m not sure maybe it’s something random he did back then”

”ok enough banter let’s move on to the actual plan” futaba got impatient again and decided there was too much talk and not enough planning

”sorry but what’s your plan with my dad?”

”well I’m assuming that he has some super secret hideout at his flat so I’m gonna need you to go and see what it is” futaba nodded and had a look of satisfaction as she thought her plan was golden

”wait a second I’m not into my dads alone you’re coming with me” ren was letting futaba go away scott free

”what!? why do I have to come with you?” this was certainly not apart of futaba’s original plan

”I mean I don’t know what I would do so it would be great if there was backup”

”you can’t be serious”

”don’t worry futaba I’ll also be there” ren had a smug look as he jeopardized futaba’s plan to not interact with ren’s dad

”you have morgana! you don’t need me!” futaba tried to save herself

”I don’t know what I have to do with this” morgana had been spectating the entire time

”then who’s going to get all the info while I distract my dad?” ren had the biggest shit eating grin as he pretended he didn’t know what to do

”fine I’ll go but you’re doing all the work in keeping him busy and I’ll get all the information”

seemed futaba had lost the battle against ren and she would have to tag along with him

she was most certainly not excited about going

”don’t worry futaba I’ll see if I can tag along as well” ann volunteered to come along with the two to his father’s place

the two shook their heads in disapproval and immediately refused on her tagging along

”not happening”

”sorry ann i think it’s best you stay behind”

”oh come on! he can’t be that bad I’ve met him before but I wanna see how he’s really like”

the two shook their heads even more as they didn’t want ann to suffer the fate of ren’s dad being...well being himself

makoto put her hand on ann’s shoulder “I think you should listen to them...he’s more eccentric than yusuke”

”what about me?” yusuke was confused by his sudden name mention

”nothing but ann if you do, do at your own risk”

ann crossed her arms as she pouted “I’m going and that’s that”

shiho laughed lightly “ann and your stubbornness”

futaba sighed “so i guess us three shall go and interrogate ren’s dad while makoto deals with her sister”

“I guess that’s the entire plan”

“ok meeting adjourned”

the group split off except for futaba and ren as they were taking the train together

they were walking over to the train platform after they got some snacks 

futaba skipped along as they reached the train platform which she then decided it was time to..question ren on some things as they reached it

futaba looked up to ren as they waited for the train to come by

”so ren..what do you think we’ll find in your dad’s place”

”not sure to be honest it could be anything”

”but you have been in your dad’s study before”

futaba wanted to test ren

“yeah I have...”

”and..?”

”and what?”

”what did you find?”

ren rubbed the back of his head “a bunch of notes and some papers but that’s really it”

futaba noted the way ren acted

this seemed to be his way of lying

”so do you think he’ll have more of that”

”he may have some tape recorders...I know he’s really fond of them”

”good to know....”

the train came by and the two got on board and headed home as to prepare for their operation tomorrow

* * *

_**The next day** _

ren, futaba and ann stood by the curb on yongen-Jaya as they awaited for ren’s father to come by

before they decided to head over to leblanc and prepare their equipment to enter in and then they had left

ren knew his father had a place where he hid all of his detective stuff and his evidence

but where could they be hiding? he didn’t know exactly

”hey ren what’s with the bag?” morgana pointed out the fact ren had a huge bag on him

”if I’m gonna distract my dad I might as well spar with him, that’ll get him fired up to not notice you or morgana sneak by and look around”

”why do I gotta share the spotlight with the kitty?” futaba felt offended that she should spy around with morgana

morgana’s ears drooped down

ann reached out and patted morgana’s head “don’t listen to her you’ll do fine, way better than what futaba could do”

as they waited they saw a sedan pull up towards them

the window rolled down and they saw the cheerful smile of the detective go through

”hiya ren! didn’t think you’d want to come along to my place and you brought your girlfriend too and tiny orange head is also with you” kazuma looked at each of their faces with his bright smile

futaba crossed her arms “I shouldn’t have come”

”so then is there any reason why you wanted to come with me and why you brought your friends along with you?” ren never told his father a reason why he wanted to come along with him to his place he just said ‘can I go over to your place?’ and that’s really it

“nah I just wanted to spar and I thought an audience to see me take you down was appropriate” ren had an excuse prepared and he knew just as much how fiery his dad was when he was challenge to a friendly bout

back before ren was transferred to Tokyo it was pretty much tradition to see someone from the force come over to his house to spar with his father and it always resulted in him winning

there was only two people to really give him a challenge

one of them was another detective...and ren himself a few times before he left for Tokyo once ren was able to get a hang of martial arts

so it was optimal and convenient for ren to use that as an excuse not only for his father’s fiery passion for a challenge but because ann decided she would tag along and he knew how much his father liked to tease ren so it was the perfect excuse

”oh alright ren, you really think you can overpower your old man? i hope you’ve been keeping up with your regimen because I think I’ve gotten better”

”we’ll see about that”

they both had an intense smile as they imagined how their match would go

”now then come on inside and I’ll take you to my home”

the three got inside with both of the girls sitting in the back while ren sat in the passenger seat

kazuma sniffed the air “why does it smell awfully like a cat?”

”no reason”

morgana peeked his head out only for ren to shove him back into his bag

”in any case let’s go”

kazuma switched gears and then drove off into the street to his apartment

* * *

_**Kazuma amamiya’s apartment** _

the door swung open and the group stepped inside

” **it’s oddly tidy** ”

” _not really my dad has always been clean_ ”

” **yet your mom was the one who usually cleaned the place** ”

” _he’s tidy when he needs to be_ ”

the apartment was pretty plain with nothing really out of the ordinary besides the ginormous living room that had no couch or sofa but just a carpet most likely where they’ll be sparring

the group took of their shoes and they got more in depth look at the apartment

such as the hallway that everyone besides kazuma took immediate notice on

”that might be where he keeps his stuff” futaba whispered

ren nodded “take morgana and I’ll keep him busy”

ann held onto ren’s arm “we will keep him busy”

”we...” ren didn’t want ann to be very affectionate to him now as his father would go ballistic in joy and maybe embarrass ren in the middle of it

”well then this shall be where we spar” kazuma put his coat away and he stepped over to his living room

ann let go and they proceeded to walk over to the living room or arena or whatever kazuma had set up

”so then ren shall we begin?” kazuma turned around and looked excited to spar with his son

”let me at least get ready first, that’s why I brought this bag”

”oh you and your superstitions” kazuma looked annoyed as he sat on the ground “go ahead I’ll be waiting” he was acting like a child as he waited for ren to be ready

”cool...now then I shall go change” ren sounded overly dramatic as he gestured to futaba to follow him

”ok! I’ll be the hypeman or hype girl or something” futaba cheerfully said

”and I’ll be the spectator I guess” ann casually said

”or you could be a ring girl in a skimpy outfit, that might motivate ren” futaba snickered as she saw the two blush from the thought of it

”futaba!” ann said very flustered

”let’s just go” ren just wanted to get this day over with without futaba’s shenanigans

futaba and ann followed ren as they stepped into the hallway

morgana jumped out of ren’s bag onto the floor

”you should’ve told him about me” morgana didn’t appreciate ren not telling him about morgana as if they were caught it would be a very major problem that some random cat would be with him

”it’s fine you’re our last resort if my dad catches any of us”

ren stopped at a door

” _hey arsene can you check for me?_ ”

” **roger** ”

arsene flew through the door and saw a normal bedroom

he then stuck himself back into the hallway and shook his head

” **nothing but a bedroom** ”

”I don’t think this is it”

”any reasoning?” morgana said confused by how ren deduced which room was the one or not

”its just a gut feeling”

ren then moved on to another door

” _this one?_ ”

arsene stuck his head in and then back out immediately

” **bathroom** ”

ren then moved on to the last one that was at the end of the corridor

” _this should be it_ ”

” **we’ll see about that** ”

arsene stuck himself through the door

ot was an empty room that had nothing besides papers scattered about on the floor

until he looked over and saw a large wide desk that sat under a giant cork board filled with pictures, bags and other assortments of evidence from over the years

they all seemed to tie themselves towards the mental shutdown cases, the phantom thieves and when ren served as the heart thief for the first two years since gaining access to the metaverse

there was also a bunch of exposed tape recorders below the desk

ren and arsene knew how fond he was of the tape recorders so there was probably some kind of confession from either a criminal or a secret recording of suspicious co worker

” **this is alot** ”

but there was something on the desk..a note or a picture of some sort

arsene drifted closer to it just to hear some commotion outside which prompted him to immediately drift back outside

when he did he saw ren’s father at the beginning of the hallways staring at the four of them

”ren...”

”dad...”

kazuma marched over towards ren angrily

”what’s that..”

ren’s heart started to beat faster and he started to get more nervous as his dad stared intensely directly at his eyes 

kazuma pointed straight down directly at morgana who fell back a little bit because of how sudden it was

”what’s...that..?” ren didn’t know what his father was getting at

”that! ren you know how much I hate cats and their antics”

ren then remembered how much his father despised cats and their existence

he was more of a dog person

”that’s why you smelled like a cat because you had this thing stuffed in your bag wasn’t it!” kazuma pressed his finger on ren’s chest repeatedly as he kept talking

“y-yes” ren was a bit overwhelmed by his father’s outburst

”well you should be! you bring a cat to my house, have him step on my floor and have him walk around care free, is he even trained!?”

”yes he is!” ann stepped in to save the overwhelmed ren “I personally trained him so I know exactly how he acts hehe, see look” ann turned and crouched down to morgana’s level “morgana sit”

”this is stupid” morgana irritatingly said as he didn’t want to do this

”morgana” ann dragged her thumb across her throat as a gesture that if morgana didn’t do what she said he would be ‘taken out’ “sit..”

ann sounded more strict and serious

morgana followed orders out of fear and sat like an obedient pet

”now roll over”

morgana followed orders

”now then come here so I can carry you”

morgana and then jumped into Ann’s arms to be cradled just like a baby

”see he’s properly trained”

kazuma stared at morgana intently

”fine then, but if I see a hairball I’m kicking him out”

”will do”

”also the bathroom is this door” kazuma pointed towards the second door that the group had went past

”then what’s in this one?” futaba innocently pointed to the door that stood in front of them

”oh that’s just my detective stuff if you want to change the bathroom is this one, now hurry up ren I want to spar with you” kazuma nonchalantly said as he walked back to the living room

ren started to calm down “thank you ann I was starting to lose it, I thought he found out what we were doing”

”it’s fine~ now go change before he catches us”

”right” ren stepped into the bathroom but before he closed the door “hey futaba”

”yeah?”

”i know my father likes keeping himself private so you’ll need this” ren tossed a lock pick to futaba

futaba caught it and examined it “got it!”

ren smiled “good, well I’ll get ready for my match”

ren closed the door while ann who still had morgana in her arms and futaba stood in the hallway thinking to themselves l

”so then I’ll leave that to you futaba I’ll go make sure his father doesn’t see anything”

”roger” futaba saluted and then went over to the door

“that should be that”

ann walked out of the hallways into the living room where kazuma sat angrily

”so ren’s father...”

”please just call me dad”

ann choked on her words as she was caught off guard “d-dad, why do you hate cats so much?”

”oh it’s because my daughter had a cat when she was way younger I believe when she was 4, it was an old cat that we had adopted from the shelter but the amount of hair balls it spat out was a complete hell”

”so that’s why you hate cats so much...but don’t worry morgana doesn’t throw up hairballs”

”he better not otherwise I’ll have to kick him out”

”anyways how often have you and ren sparred?”

”I’m guessing as his girlfriend you know by now at least I hope as makoto told me about you guys so I’m guessing you know all about kasumi but besides that a while after her death ren decided it was time to get over it and he started to work himself to the bone and that meant sparring with me on a near day to day basis”

”he did..? and on a day to day basis?” ann put morgana back on the ground fighting against his protests and his nagging to stay in her arms

”he’s always been a hard worker and the type of person to selfishly leave things to himself, so I just want to quickly advise you even though I hope it doesn’t happen but if it does..don’t let go of ren once he gets something stuck into his head he’ll follow that idea of his to the bitter end and there may not be anything that’ll change his mind”

”I’ll keep note..has he done that before?”

”I’m...not sure myself. he is always so mysterious and quiet that it’s hard to read him”

”that’s true he does always keep himself hidden and out of sight” ann giggled to herself “even if he’s bad at doing so”

kazuma laughed along with her “they’re things he’s bad at but in all seriousness” the tone between the down went back to serious and heavy “make sure ren doesn’t try anything stupid I’ve seen him try things that are out of his league”

”gotcha..” ann didn’t know how to respond

but it seemed important to make sure she remembers what he said it may be useful in the near future if ren tries to pull another stunt like he has done before on several occasions

”by the way how was ren before the incident?” might as well see how different ren was before and after

”not that different than now, he was always the head first kinda guy who always stayed in the spotlight even if he didn’t want to but he was way more laid back and he always stayed out of trouble, but when that incident did come I guess it awakened him and he became way more focused and way more serious than he ever was beforehand and that meant he became more involved and got into trouble way more often”

”so that incident must have changed him..”

”very much so”

”another random and oddquestion but what did ren do in his past time”

kazuma thought to himself before responding “that I cannot tell mainly because I don’t know what he did. all I know for sure is that whatever he did it was very strenuous on his body and kind and that it was very personal to him..but there have been times where he has just stayed quiet but never still he was always on the move”

“on the move? in what way?”

”well he was most likely finding you of course the perfect wife and the Snow White he had to awaken in order for her to be in his life” kazuma said in an obviously joking way

the mood went from serious back to light hearted and it showed as kazuma laughed while ann got immediately flustered as her head seem to explode

”alright I finished changing” ren was in a white long sleeved shirt and some black shorts as well as his contacts being inserted so he would get his glasses demolished in the onslaught. he looked at what was happening to see ann look as red as a tomato while his father innocently giggled “alright what did you do?”

”tell her about you as a baby”

”no you did not!”

”and what if I did?”

ren grinded his teeth together out of anger but then gave smirk as he flipped his hair back “alright, then I guess I have to make sure you don’t say anything more”

”and what if I win?”

”you get to say anything embarrassing you want to anyone”

”I do that anyways but I’ll agree”

the two shook on it and then they took their offensive stances

ann snapped out of her thoughts and watched on as the two proceeded with their match

”what are the rules?”

”same as always ren, any hit to the head is illegal and if you takedown your opponent you win”

”then that settles that. ann give us a countdown”

”sure! 3...2...1...”

as she counted each the number the two got even more tense

”go!”

the two rushed at eachother and began swinging at eachother

a battle between father and son, teacher and student, master and prodigy

* * *

_**meanwhile**_

futaba was still trying to pick lock the door

and she didn’t know how to do it

she struggles as the lock continue to jingle mocking her as she kept failing

”if only this door was unlocked”

and then reality set in

”wait a sec”

futaba facepalmed before she put the lock pick away and then turned he knob of the door

the door easily opened through making the whole lock pick part completely pointless and unnecessary

no matter, futaba just had to see if there was anything that could be of use to futaba as evidence to what the cause of the mental shutdown cases could be

there was no light switch for some odd reason so futaba had to go in blind l

as she stepped through she made sure not to step on any of the papers that were scattered about on the floor so she couldn’t leave any tracks and so that she wouldn’t slip

carefully she top toed towards the board and the giant desk that sat in front of it and she was able to see more of it since there was no light to make it easier to see around her

“wait I have an idea”

futaba pulled out her phone and turned on the flashlight to look around and she was able see all that was around her

”bingo! I’m so smart”

futaba complimented herself before she kept waking over

she eventually made it over the desk and then examined the board and the desk fully

there was three drawers that seemed pretty intact

futaba aimed her phone at the board and saw what was all over the board

it was calling cards that they had written and the ones ren had made when he was in kyoto and they were all sprawled and stamped onto the board with metal pins

every calling card was different each of them being filled with some lengthy paragraph and being written about a different name each time about sins and how ‘your crimes will be paid for’ in a very cliche and childish manner

but a few of them caught her attention

on the middle of the board there was three particular cards that seemed to be in near perfect condition except for one but they all have had extreme care taken to make sure there were no damages on them whatsoever

she then saw who each of their names were and deduced them to her own associations

wakaba Isshiki, cognitive psience researcher and futaba‘s mom, she was also friends with ren’s dad, sojiro and perhaps ren if he ever met her

the next one was surprisingly a calling card with ren’s father’s full name which meant a few things, one being that ren targeted his father and his father had a palace which meant he had a corrupted heart which perplexed futaba as he never came off as a mean spirited person but it could’ve been a different reason that he had a palace

but futaba had to rely on baseless assumptions

the third one seemed to be the most chilling though

the name couldn’t be made as there was some kind of red liquid that stained through the card and the fact that the card was so withered away that it had to be tucked into a plastic bag and then stamped onto the board but it had a more sinister vibe to it like there was more to behold

for one it wasn’t signed by the heart thief which was ren’s old alias but it lacked any of the charm ren usually had writing his cards and it was more serious it was also written with a different style handwriting 

but while it lack any of ren’s influence and ideas it had the same formula to the card, either this was an accomplice to ren or this was a completely different metaverse user

while it lack any of the charm ren put into it, it also conveyed the same message with a near identical pattern and structure to how it was written

if anything this sure may at least be related to ren in some sort of way

futaba moved on and looked all around the board to see more boring cards but she haphazardly skipped over some writing that was located on multiple cards

it seemed useless to futaba so she merely glossed over it

after more examination futaba moved on to the table that had three drawers in one column

”there might be something here”

futaba opened the first drawer and was immediately astonished and scared

what was in it was an unloaded pistol that didn’t seem like the toy gun ren keeps in his bag

nornally police officers don’t even carry firearms yet he had one and it seemed so real

”it’s just a last resort, it’s just a last resort” futaba took some deep breaths and calmed herself down before closing the drawers and moving on

she opened the next one to see a bunch of folders most likely carrying case files on several cases

futaba picked up one of the folders and she quickly skimmed what was in it to no avail

”boriiing”

except for something that slipped out

she shined her light to where she dropped the object to see it was some sort of flash drive

”so the old guy does have a flash drive..but why here?”

futaba shrugged her shoulders as it didn’t matter, she had what she wanted

but she decided to look at what else was in the drawer to see barely anything

but it didn’t hurt to look at the last drawer to see what was in it

she opened it to see nothing important but just a bunch of random photos that were stockpiled to the absolute brim

”cool there’s nothing special”

futaba closed the drawer and began making her way back to the outside

she carefully managed her way through and closed the door behind her leaving barely any tracks left

she slowly crept her way back to see both ann and morgana stare at some sort of thing that was occurring

as futaba walked out of the corner she saw the match between ren and his dad ensue

both kept flinging attacks at eachother but they both dodged and tried to counter eachother

until finally ren got a clean direct hit onto his dad’s chest that knocked him back a bit

kazuma recovered and he smiled at ren proudly ”nice job ren, you’ve been keeping up and you’ve gotten a bit faster, but don’t underestimate your old man just yet”

”I think the only one that has been underestimating is you”

kazuma smirked before he quickly rushed over swinging at ren’s side

ren blocked the attack which gave kazuma the exact opening he was wanting in order to quickly sweep ren off his feet with his left leg

“maybe next time ren” he then was about slam ren down with his fist but he didn’t anticipate ren’s next move

ren caught his arm and then used the momentum to quickly land on his feet and then flip his dad over his shoulder planting him on the floor while still holding onto his arm

and while his dad was trying to quickly recover ren planted himself on the floor and put his dad into an armlock submission that his father couldn’t get out of

though he struggled his might wasn't strong enough to overpower ren

after some more struggling kazuma tapped the floor insinuating that he was giving up

”i yield”

ren smiled as he let go of his dad then got up to his feet

he helped his dad get up and then saw both of the girls applaud the two’s performance

”ren I never knew you could be so quick and so agile”

”you’ve seen me be like that plenty of times though”

”not as quick as this”

”bravo ren that was just like something I’ve seen in Phoenix ranger Featherman R!” futaba was clapping way louder than ann

”I have to hand it to you boy, you really got me there” kazuma was moving his arm around to make sure it wasn’t damaged in any way

”I haven’t let go of my training at all”

”I see that, we’ll care to stay for dinner? I bet you are all starving from all that has happened today” kazuma offered with a bright smile

”what about morgana what would he eat?” futaba pointed down at morgana who was sitting patiently

kazuma looked at futaba then morgana and then back at futaba “fine, what does it eat?”

”do you have any sushi or any kind of seafood?”

”I have some leftover shrimp from a while ago will it eat that?”

”yeah that’ll work, right morgana?” futaba crouched down and started to pull on his ears and cheeks

”stop!” morgana pulled his face away from futaba

”alright sit down I’ll have something made for you guys”

everyone entered the kitchen and sat down at the table while kazuma started to make dinner

futaba opened her phone and started to type in the chat on her findings

[F: I didn’t find much in there]

[Ry: find what?]

[F: we went into his dad’s place but there wasn’t much]

[Y: what did you find?]

[Mi: it has to be interesting if it’s a detective]

[F: he has gathered all of the calling cards he could from you guys and from ren, and some more stuff]

[Ry: like what? they have to be interesting]

[F: nah some boring case files but there was a flash drive hidden in one of them]

ren was reading the messages and then looked at futaba weirdly

”what do you mean?” ren whispered to futaba

futaba showed ren the flash drive she found and he took it from her to examine more closely

it looked normal but it looked like it was still new or if it was kept intact for a long time

but it had a strange logo on it that was painted on it with a greenish orangish color as if a child painted on it

”well I’ll be damned..”

”what? what?”

”...oh! nothing it’s just this may be our ticket to finding out who this other user could be”

”I knew it! although it was kinda disappointing to see something as boring as this in a detective’s secret office” futaba took back the drive and inserted it into her pocket

”but at least we’ll be closer to who this black mask is” ann whispered

”speaking about that how’s makoto doing? she should be done by now” morgana asked as he sat on ren’s lap trying to peer at futaba’s phone

”I’ll ask her”

[F: hey makoto]

[F: makotooooooo]

[Ma: yes?]

[F: did you get the data?]

[Ma: sis hasn’t come home yet so no]

[F: booooo]

[Ma: it’s out of my control]

[F: will she come home?]

[Ma: she will I know she will]

[F: at least check her stuff for something]

makoto took a bit to respond as she thought about it

[Ma: fine]

[Ma: this better be worth it]

[F: trust me it will]

futaba closed her phone

”let’s hope makoto will get it today and we don’t have to postpone it until tomorrow”

”let’s just trust her, she’ll pull through” ann said optimistically 

“let’s hope”

”here’s dinner!” kazuma served plates of piping hot food to the group “and I got some food for the cat” kazuma placed another plate on the floor for morgana to eat

morgana jumped off of ren’s lap and onto the ground where he eyed the plate of soft leftover shrimp

”well dig in”

the group started to munch on their food

”surprisingly good” ren said bluntly which insulted his dad

”what do you mean surprisingly? you know I can cook a decent meal”

”for someone trying to impress their future daughter in law you should’ve tried harder” ren took a piece out of his dad’s book and he used it against him

”ren!” ann said shocked and embarrassed that ren could say something so openly

ren quickly smirked at ann and he nudged her, gesturing to ann that she should play along

ann sat there confused but she decided to let it slide and play along

”isn’t that right ann?”

”uhh s-s-sure this is pretty m-mediocre to what ren usually serves me” sadly ann responded using her very hard to believe acting skills

”it can’t be that bad!” and kazuma took it hook, line and sinker as he tried to defend himself

futaba repeatedly slammed her fists on the table “I want better, sojiro can cook something better than this with a blindfold on!” and beautifully futaba joined in understanding what ren and ann were doing and wanting some of the action herself

”you’re gonna compare me to someone as skillful as sojiro! that’s like comparing day to night! there’s a huge difference!”

”I want better!” futaba chanted while banging her hands against the table

”we want better!” ann and ren chanted in unison

”more seafood!” morgana chanted even though it didn’t matter as all kazuma could hear was a cat’s meow

kazuma stood there as he saw the three and the cat chant against him

his left fist tightened and his anger and resolve skyrocketed

”fine then! I’ll make you a meal that’ll blow you all away to the moon! just you watch and I’ll be able to do it” kazuma was now trying to prove to them how good he really was

ren gave a mischievous smile as he wanted to push his dad even farther

it was finally his time to get on his dad’s nerves by embarrassing him and forcing him to do even better than his standard

” **you certainly are evil** ”

” _he deserved it_ ”

” **you know that’s still your dad, right?** ”

” _it’s fine, he finally gets his comeuppance for all the things he’s been doing to me_ ”

” **evil** ”

the three continued forward with their chants while they saw kazuma make sure his dinner was perfect for the group to eat

* * *

_**Niijima household** _

makoto stood by the table still waiting for her sister’s eventual arrival

she already had dinner since it was already late thus far

still she paced around her kitchen wondering what she should do

she them looked up and stared at her sister’s room

”no! I can’t do that even if she isn’t here currently”

makoto couldn’t snoop around in her sister’s room not only was it disrespectful but it would further complicate their relationship if she found out

but her curiosity was strong and maybe too strong for her not to at least take a peek

‘a peek wouldn’t hurt’ is what her mind convinced her with

makoto walked over to her sae’s room, took a deep breath and peeked inside

it was the same tidy room that looked spotless as usual

but it was her desk that seemed the most out of place mainly because it was the place where sae kept some of her most valuable possessions

one such possession was her notebook where she kept track of everything and where she kept track of her private investigation about the death of their father

she wanted to look inside and try to search for it but it violated her morals

she closed the door and went back to the living room

”I couldn’t do such a thing, even though I’m trying to steal all of the contents from her laptop going into her room is worse”

makoto pulled out her phone

[Ma: I don’t think sis is coming anytime soon do updates will be delayed]

[F: that’s fine]

[F: as long as I get something juicy to see I’m fine]

[Ma: well I’ll keep you all posted for when that does happen]

just then the front door to her apartment jingled which grabbed makoto’s attention

eventually who came through was an exhausted sae carrying her bag through sluggishly

”hey makoto” sae greeted makoto

”sis you’re here earlier than usual”

she trotted over to the table and sat down immediately taking her laptop out of her bag and putting it on the table

she immediately opened it and got back to whatever she was working on before she got home

”sis..are you tired?”

”do I look that tired? I just got stressed out at work and I didn’t want my irritation to show at the office” sae massaged her brow as she had been pulling a scowl for a majority of the day

”sorry to hear, what kind of work is it that you are doing?”

”some dumb and tedious work about the storage of the evidence on the phantom thieves which is completely wasteful on someone with such expertise as mine, anybody could do a small task like this” sae’s scowl showed up again “not to mention the media keeps checking us at every inquiry we make and the fact that this case isn’t so easy to pursue with spare time, this is something I can’t do solo and I have to invest all my time into but even if I do I still end up nowhere”

sae vented all of her frustrations to makoto who seemed genuinely worried for her sister as she has had a lot on her plate to deal with

”sis you seem to be pretty stressed out, why don’t you take a bath to alleviate and that tension and stress out of your system” makoto suggested

sae exhaled and looked at makoto “you know that sounds like a very good idea right now” sae stood up from the table “I’ll leave this work for after maybe his bath will get me back into a well mental state”

sae closed her laptop and walked over to the bathroom

makoto watched as sae proceeded to walk over to the bathroom and close the door behind her

as soon as she heard the door lock click she got straight to work

she opened her laptop and took out the flash drive that futaba gave her and stick it into sae’s laptop

the drive went to work and a pop up bar showing the process of futaba’s program copying and extracting all of the laptop’s contents

makoto’s heart started to beat and she started to sweat

if sae decided to come out at any moment makoto would’ve been caught and questioned profusely which wasn’t in her best interest

”come on, come on, come on” makoto wished for the extraction to go a little faster

”makoto!” sae called makoto’s name within the bathroom “did you happen to get a new toothbrush? I’ve been meaning to change mine”

”it’s on the shelf!”

”thank you”

the shower could be heard in the background being turned on

the progress on the bar didn’t seem to go any faster and it didn’t help makoto’s anxiousness

a few minutes past by and it was nearly complete

”stay calm, stay calm this’ll go through it has to”

the sound of the shower stopped and makoto looked back fear being sprayed on her face

”t-that was fast!” there was a slight but noticeable stutter caught in makoto’s voice

”I didn’t feel like relaxing, at least not right now”

makoto looked back to her laptop to see the bar almost filled

”it’s so close too” makoto has to think of something quick in order to sway her sister to spend a little longer in the bathroom

”hey sis!”

”what is it makoto?”

”I bought a new bath salt can you please put it in the tub for me?”

”sure thing”

makoto heard the sound of sae opening the bath salt faintly

”that should buy me enough time”

the bar filled up and without wasting any time makoto took out the flash drive put it in her pocket and she closed the laptop making sure that it looked as if there was no tampering with it at all

makoto quickly calmed herself down and made sure she didn’t look suspicious at all

the bathroom door opened and sae exited with a towel on her body and another one on her head covering up her hair

”I put the bath salt in for you like I said”

”thanks sis, I’ll take my turn I’m the bath now” makoto scuttled past sae and she was about to enter the bathroom

”hey makoto?”

makoto stopped dead in her tracks and she turned to face sae trying her hardest to not seem guilty or suspicious of anything

”have you spoken with amamiya-san?”

”the detective? the one our father spoke to”

”yes..” sae was confused to why makoto went into more detail but she let it pass “have you spoken with him or seen him lately?”

”no..?” makoto lied “I know he is currently in Tokyo but what about it?”

”good I don’t want him to be affiliated with us” sae turned back around in order to walk to her room

”wait sis”

sae turned back around to face makoto

”what is it?”

”why do you hate him so much?”

”it isn’t something I could easily say, but he is careless and he didn’t do anything to prevent the death of our father all he did was mess around and he acted without caution”

”is that all?”

”that’s only one reason I loathe him but I don’t find a man like him fit to be a detective and so I try to avoid him at work as much as possible. I feel as if I try to associate with him that I may end up with the same fate due to his carelessness”

”I see”

”well get a good nights rest makoto, you wouldn’t want to impede on your time for studying and to prepare for your entrance exams” sae turned back around and entered her room

”she still has that view of him” makoto sighed as she entered her bathroom

* * *

_**Later - Kazuma’s apartment** _

it was several hours past when ren and his friends came to his apartment

kazuma was all tired out from cooking and his match with ren

”those kids certainly know how to get a rise out of me”

kazuma turned off all of his lights but before he went to his room he stepped over to his back room filled with all of his detective work and all the evidence he has gathered

he opened the door and entered in 

“I need to pick these up”

kazuma quickly gathered all of the papers he left on the floor and he gathered them and he put them into his second drawer filled with case files and other papers

he then sensed something odd

he picked up a certain file and skimmed into it

”did I leave that flash drive somewhere?”

kazuma couldn’t find it anywhere in his drawer

kazuma scratched his head ”to think I lost something I was meant to give” kazuma let out a deep sigh “hopefully it finds its way to her”

kazuma stood back up and closed the drawer

he saw the photo that he also left out in the open

he picked it up and looked at it

it was a photo of him and a fellow detective smiling as they stood together for the photo

”jiro...I’ll make sure that whoever killed you will be given the same exact punishment”

kazuma crouched back down and put the photo into the bottom drawer filled with photos

”I need to find another place to put these photos, there are too many that keep covering my other things”

kazuma stuffed the photo in and closed the drawer

he walked away and was about to leave the room but not without giving one look at his cork board 

“I’ll make sure that all these years of hunting will lead me to the answer”

kazuma closed the door and headed off to his bedroom

the photo he held in his hand a few seconds earlier was a photo of him and detective jiro niijima, father of sae and makoto niijima and one of the countless victims of a mental shutdown except his case was special as he was one of the only ones with a calling card to receive a mental shutdown not to anyone else’s knowledge

every mental shutdown case has been labeled as a freak accident with nothin else to go off of

except kazuma was the only person who knew about these few calling cards that caused mental shutdowns as he had kept them before anyone else could get a hand on them

a bad move? sure, keeping information to yourself was bad but if there’s something that should be said about kazuma

was that he wasn’t a quitter and he wasn’t afraid of going to the absolute extremes to reach his end goal similar to his son

even if it meant killing

after all what else was that gun meant for?

as long as kazuma saw the death of the one causing all of these shutdowns and the death of his closest friend jiro, he would make sure that he wouldn’t go unpunished

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aahhhhh busy with school so it took a lot longer to write this than I anticipated
> 
> Also setting the tone for what might come next


	82. A mother’s goodbye

ren opened his eyes and he was back in a void of nothingness

“ _time is running out.._ ”

a voice echoed through out in ren’s head

” _should you keep pursuing this route..all of it will end and you’ll lose it all_ ”

was this some sort of dream? it didn’t seem like a nightmare that ren had seen many times over

” _so if you hear this you must listen to the cries of the guides that have been with you this entire time_ ”

guides? that word confused ren what was this odd feminine voice talking about

” _ruin is near you must heed the words of the others_ ”

ruin? ren didn’t understand anything that this voice kept saying

” _the key to salvation lies within your bonds, you mustn’t neglect them trickster_ ”

the voice went away along with the blue hue that seemed to also be present, most likely what ever this voice was

* * *

_**Ren’s attic** _

ren opened his eyes and he was back in his room

ren slowly got up and surveyed his surroundings

he held his head as he tried to shake that odd dream

”another nightmare ren?” morgana sat on the floor looking at ren

”no just another dream..wait you know about my nightmares?”

”that’s kind of insulting, I’ve seen you toss and turn around in your bed while muttering some stuff”

”such as..?”

“something about backstabbing and crimes? or the occasional times where you seem to be in pain”

”oh...good to know” reached for his glasses

”mind telling what they could be?”

ren looked back at morgana

he took a deep breath “hey morgana..you mind keeping a secret between you and me?”

” **negotiating with a cat? you really lost it** ”

” _shut up, I’m doing it one step at a time_ ”

” **at least you’re somewhat telling the group even if it’s just morgana** ”

”sure thing I can keep a secret. I believe there’s a deep connection between us so I think it makes sense that we should exchange some personal info”

”a deep connection huh..maybe I shouldn’t have abandoned you in that dungeon” ren appreciated how morgana viewed their relationship, made him feel better about how he originally thought morgana saw him

“you think!? do you know how mad I was when you did so?”

“sorry about that” ren laid back down on his bed with his arms stretched behind his head cushioning his head “it’s just being solo and going through places alone was always my MO during then”

”I mean that does make sense but did you not have any empathy to help others or have the want for some support”

ren thought about it for a second whilst sitting back up “I do, but it’s just that me dying didn’t mean anything and I wasn’t willing to bring people into the metaverse during then”

”are you afraid of death?”

”it’s not that I’m afraid of death if I was I would be more cautious” ren lifted his shirt revealing the cars on his body “these scars prove how careless I am. not one of my proudest moments I would say” ren jokingly said as he put his shirt back down

”so then why didn’t you want support?”

”it’s not that death scares me it’s seeing the people around you die. that’s what really terrifies me I don’t want that to happen to me ever again”

ren stood up and started to change into his uniform

”is that why you always risk your own life and well being for everyone like you’ve done for the past few months?” morgana watched as ren kept pacing back and worth trying to get his clothes together

”yeah..that’s why” ren quietly said

”it’s because you fear people dying, that’s why you risk your life”

ran glanced at him for a second and then back to his school bag

”if you put it like that then yeah..”

”wait what do you mean put it like that?”

ren turned to look at morgana and crouched down in order to pull on his cheeks like futaba does

”mrfgh! stop!”

“let’s go to school we have a busy day today”

ren walked off downstairs as he was now changed into his uniform 

morgana watched as he did “what is he so mysterious”

morgana sighed

”what you forgot about me!”

* * *

_**On the way to school** _

ren got out of the station into Aoyama-itchome

now all that was between him and school was the simple walk forwards

arsene sighed

” _what is it now? I did what you said_ ”

” **at least it’s progress, but our time is running out** ”

” _you’re right, if akechi is here then there’s no telling that’s he’s planning something_ ”

” **which is why you need to tell them** ”

“ _one step at a time right arsene?_ ”

” **ren this isn’t something to joke about** ”

waiting for him on the way was ann who leaned against a pole waiting for him

when she saw him she grew a huge smile over her face

she then walked over and immediately locked arms with him

”sorry if I was late I got stuck trying to get out of the train”

”it’s ok~” ann said cheerfully as she hummed to herself

“what’s got you so happy?” ren didn’t mind it as she looked cute to him

”we get to go to Hawaii on Monday, and i don’t think I’ve ever been to Hawaii before”

”I haven’t been to anywhere out of the country so this’ll be a new experience for me”

”maybe when we get older we should go overseas, it could be super fun!”

”just you and me right?”

ann blushed “of course”

morgana groaned within ren’s bag

the two giggled together as they conversed with one another on their way to school

* * *

_**Shujin academy** _

ryuji and mishima were walking around the building

everyone around them was still chattering about that article all about how the principal tried to cover up the entire kamoshida scandal

”this is still being talked about, you think this may effect our Hawaii trip?” 

”nah, if anything we may lose some teachers that should’ve been with us. but all this talk about that principal is pretty damn sweet” ryuji enjoyed the publicity and all the gossiping about the principal

”I guess you can always leave it like that”

as the two kept walking they saw makoto and kawakami speaking with one another

”oh hey it’s-“ mishima noticed makoto

”yo makoto!”

”not so loud!” mishima thought ryuji was gathering too much attention to himself

”what do you mean not so loud? I’m just saying hello to makoto” ryuji didn’t understand what mishima was panicking for

”people are looking at us” mishima started to get insecure about if people were looking at him

”no they’re not and what are you being so worried for?” ryuji couldn’t comprehend what mishima was on about

”what are you two doing?” makoto had walked over to them and she had her arms crossed as she stared at the two

”what’re you doing talking to a teacher?”

”it seems that your Hawaii trip will be accompanied by some of the third years”

”does that mean haru will be coming with us?”

”her grades are pretty good so she might be able to join us”

”nice! then the entire gang minus yusuke and futaba will come with us”

”that doesn’t mean you can slack off ryuji you’re one of the troublemakers that have been marked down along with ren and his usual stunts”

”y-yes ma’am”

”wait so are some of the teachers going to stay behind?” mishima asked

”seems so, this magazine really has taken the school by storm so reporters from all over Tokyo and the outskirts are coming here to interview them”

”this is really bad”

”it is but there’s not much we can do about it”

”anyways what’re you think they’ll allow us to do in hawaii?” ryuji wasn’t interested in the boring stuff and he was more into the fact that they were leaving hawaii

”nothing too extreme ryuji, we still have to lay low” makoto advised ryuji

”but that’s lame”

the bell rang

”and that’s our queue to split up and go to class”

makoto left the two boys alone by themselves

”isn’t that good news ryuji?”

”yeah, more time at the beach and more time looking as ladies, wait Hawaiian chicks dude!” ryuji got excited trying to picture the girls at Hawaii

“I guess you have your priorities straight”

the two returned to class before it truly started and everyone had settled in

* * *

**_Class 1-D_ **

ren was sitting in class hitting down notes while a lecture was going on

morgana was in his desk licking his paw quietly in between

” **can you at least tell me your plan to come** **clean?** ” arsene phased through the window next to ren’s face

” _you know if I wasn’t used to you doing this I would’ve freaked out in the middle of class_ ” 

“ **if only you reacted the same, completely freaking out and falling out of your seat** ”

” _yeah, yeah, laugh at the guy who got spooked by an 8 foot ghost phantom creature coming out of his desk ahhh_ ” ren sarcastically thought

arsene laughed ” **that was quite fun but now back to the task at hand** ”

arsene got really close to ren’s face which made ren really uncomfortable

“ **what’s your plan to come clean?** ”

“ _I have one_ ”

” **which is..?** ”

ren looked away guiltily 

“ **you don’t have a plan do you?** ”

” _I got this don’t worry_ ”

” **don’t tell me you’re going to wing this like all of your other plans that you make** ”

” _you say that like I have another choice_ ”

” **I think you do, there has to be a smarter plan** ”

” _I’m not so sure. if I tried to let all of my past out at once it may cause more than a stir...all that I’ve done.._ ”

” **don’t be so down ren, it’ll be for the better** ”

” _can...can I at least do it at my pace, I don’t want to accidentally cause trouble for anyone_ ”

” **as you wish but remember, there’s a time limit to how long you’ll can postpone it all, if you don’t wanna cause more trouble you need to do it quick** ”

” _..._ ”

arsene sighed “ **make up your mind before it’s too late** ”

arsene flew out of the classroom

” _so I have my own deadline_ ”

ren sat back into his chair frowning

morgana’s head turned “mroow?”

* * *

_**Futaba’s room** _

after school everyone headed over to sojiro’s house in order to now discuss what information makoto and futaba both had obtained

but before they could

shiho took her bag and shook it emptying out all of it it’s contents out onto the floor directly on top of a stack of magazines and brochures that were already placed down

”holy crap, did you two grab all of these?” ann stared at the massive pile of the papers

”I’ve been waiting for this trip since I knew we were even going on one, there’s no way I’m not under preparing for this even if I tried” shiho had been looking forward for this trip for ages

”we gotta know all the good spots and cool places to head to” ryuji looked at the pile and picked up one of the brochures “this one has some cool sightseeing spots and even paragliding, we should do that!”

”I’m not sure heights are my thing” shiho said

”shiho!” ann picked up one of the magazines “they apparently sell if juicy steak more than twice the size of the ones in Japan!” ann was drooling as she showed the picture to shiho

”no way! it looks so juicy and tender I just wanna bite into it and savior all of its flavors!”

”what a coincidence i am also going in a trip overseas”

”oh really where?” haru said curious

”I believe it’s called Los Angeles”

”that sounds very exquisite and it may have some notable spots to mention there too”

”there may be certain areas where I may be able to capture some fine images from”

”ok will you two quit the blabber and look at the screen for a moment” futaba got bored of the chatter. she looked at makoto and put her hand in the area gesturing for makoto to give her something “you have my little drive?”

”I do” makoto handed her the flash drive “I’m not so sure if I did it right”

”we’ll see about that” futaba stuck in the drive and all of the data makoto has taken started to show up on the computer

everyone looked on the screen as the data started to load

once it loaded everyone saw all of what sae had investigated and conjured throughout

”whoa!” mishima was shocked by all that was showing up on the screen

futaba started to go at her keyboard and searching through all that she could

”interesting, so she has apparently connected all the shutdown cases as one conglomerate case all of which being connected to once spire otherwise known as the culprit and the guy we have to take down”

”holy shit! this is cool” ryuji said surprised and thankful for all the info they now had

”this quite a lot, can you analyze all of it?” morgana said as information kept flying through the screen

”I will but it’ll take me some time”

“about how long?” makoto asked

”maybe the entirety of your guy’s school trip but depending on how much stuff is on this other flash drive maybe even longer”

”well what’re you waiting for?” ren said unusually calm “let’s crack open the other drive!” ren smirked as she held his fist in the air

”right! let’s pop in this bad boy” futaba stuck in the other flash drive that she had taken from kazuma’s apartment

when she did there wasn’t that same surge of information to go off of but just one video file that had the title ‘hello!’ on it

”weird there is only a video file on this thing, did I take the wrong one?”

“open it, let’s see what it is”

futaba double clicked on it and a video players popped up

futaba pressed play and the video began

the black screen turned into a video of futaba’s mom greeting the group in an office of some sorts

[hiya futaba!, I hope you’re reading this or listening to this..one or the other is fine]

”mom..?” futaba asked confused

she held out her hand and pressed it on the screen

[well I just wanted to say I’m very sorry for not always being there for you, work has been busy and your mom has to work hard and if your happen to be watching this you’re most likely off somewhere else doing your own things]

[the world is dangerous sweetie and your mother doesn’t want you to get hurt whatsoever you hear? I already have enough on my plate with people constantly trying to pry me for information on my research but don’t you worry! your mother has some helpers to take care of that]

[the world is more than a cartoon or an anime, not all of it is black and white and as clear as day. make sure you look in between and you read out everyone’s true nature, it may save you one day]

[and if you’re watching this and you feel as if you’re stuck in a predicament and you feel like giving up is the only option I want you to put your chest out, take your fist and punch fate right in its dumb face!]

wakaba punched the air in a comedic fashion

[give it a good ole isshiki left hook!]

wakaba then went back into a calm and mature demeanor

[but if there’s one more thing I want you to know is that I love your futaba. don’t you ever forget that]

[no matter what happens to me or you. your mother will always be there for you]

futaba eyes were leaking tears and she began sniffling

[take care futaba! stay safe!]

wakaba waved goodbye as the video file ended leaving a totally black screen

everyone didn’t know how to respond as they looked to one another

futaba finished sniffling and she wiped the tears off of her eyes

she swiveled around to face the group

”so...that was my mother’s message for me”

“it quite saddening, perhaps she meant it for the future” haru concluded

”no” ren said immediately in all seriousness “it was most likely meant for now, I think she knew that she was going to die and she wanted to leave that for you”

”I see...maybe mom wanted to leave this for me but she never got the chance to and maybe your dad was meant to leave it for me but he never could”

”my dad is a bit forgetful but maybe he wouldn’t mind if you’d snooped around for some flash drive that was meant for you”

”I’m now fired up to find out who this guy who’s forcing people to have mental shutdowns is, it’s time they laid the price” futaba got amped up

”we’ll seeing as I can’t come with ren to Hawaii I’ll be staying here helping futaba”

”you won’t be of much use” futaba stared to pull on morgana’s face “you just be you and do cat things”

morgana ears dropped down as he got off of futaba’s desk

”by the way ren I saw a calling card meant for my mom, why did you send one to her?”

everyone looked at ren as futaba had put him on blast

” _wait she saw the calling card?_ ”

” **your dad had gathered all the callings cards that he could get his hands on, one of them being the one on futaba’s mom** ”

” _alright I got this_ ”

” **don’t hide just tell the truth** ”

” _I’ll try_ ”

”it was before she passed away, I guess my dad may have added it on to the pile of the others to find out who was causing all of it”

”wait so you did know my mom!”

ren sighed as he rubbed his neck “I’m sorry for lying but I wasn’t so sure if I should’ve came out and said it. your reaction may have been too much for me but regardless I did know your mom and I was her test puppet for her research and she wanted to know how sending calling cards worked”

”but what about her death?”

”I had left Tokyo a day before I didn’t think anything would happen to her, yet as soon as I left she was taken out and her research was stolen”

”wait then what was in her research?” ryuji said loudly

ren shook his head ”I can’t remember but whoever has it now holds some precious info on the metaverse and they may be the reason for why people are dying all over”

the group thought about it for a second

”so then futaba you better get on it, the quicker we get this done the better our chances are finding out this dirtbag who is pulling all the strings” shiho said with resolve and determination in her voice

”agreed, I cannot stand the wait any longer” yusuke said with the same amount of ferocity in his voice

the group nodded

”well let’s save that for after, I have to get working so I’m gonna need some privacy”

”so then we begin working on the case to top all cases after a break from the metaverse, that sounds fun” mishima was planning how the trip should go

”let’s save that for after, it’s time we all head back” ren said stretching his arms

”right, and we should go back to acting as normal students for the time being” makoto replies responsively

the group left sojiro’s house and went on to their separate ways

ren was walking back home by himself as arsene flew around him

” **its a nice start for what you know but may I ask when will you talk about akechi?** ”

”not sure that may take a while, maybe I won’t even try”

morgana popped out of ren’s bag “what’re you talking about?”

ren forgot he was talking in the open and he panicked “sorry just talking to myself about how plans..and stuff”

”ok”

morgana was oblivious to what ren as talking about

arsene shook his head “ **this is gonna be a long while before you do huh?** ”

” _I wanna talk about futaba’s mom first maybe that’ll leave things up in the air for her to see_ ”

” **don’t sugar coat your words next time, you didn’t say all of what you knew** ”

” _it’ll take time, I wanna at least make sure it all goes smoothly_ ”

” **very well** ”

ren headed home where he thought about how he should explain things

* * *

_**3 years ago** _

wakaba just finished recording the video from her laptop when she heard some rustling through in the hallway behind her

she looked back to see two young men place boxes on the floor behind her

”is this good isshiki-san?”

”perfect and goro I told you that you can call me by my first name and drop the honorifics”

”are you sure I don’t wanna be rude” akechi said as he didn’t wanna be disrespectful in any way possible

”it’s fine you and ren are coworkers in my office and guests in my home! just make yourselves well”

ren and akechi were the ones to drop off the boxes in wakaba’s office 

”right but what if someone catches us in the office?”

”don’t worry it’s not like people will show up this is my personal palace after all”

”come on goro!” ren laid his arm around akechi’s shoulders “don’t be such a worrywart”

ren had the same frizzy hair look while akechi has much longer hair than he does in the present

ren had a more charismatic attitude while akechi acted more shy and naive

”anyways you two do you happen to have brought what I asked?” wakaba didn’t get up but she proceeded to swivel her way to the group using her chair because she was too lazy to get up

she opened one of the boxes and she got an even smaller boxes through some packing peanuts

”this is it!” she excitedly opened the box and pulled out the vial that was in it

”what’s that?” ren said eager to know what it was

”it’s something that’ll help me create a substance that’ll give me a palace and you guys can enter in and I can document what happens if you tamper with some of it”

”this’ll help change the future for the better right?” akechi said wishing to make a better japan for everyone to live in

“not giving up on the hero dream huh akechi?” wakaba laughed sad akechi got flustered

”it’s not like that!”

”don’t worry you’ll be recognized as a hero soon I’m sure of it ay detective prince?” wakaba kept giggling as she teased akechi

”don’t mock me like that!”

ren laughed along with wakaba “it’ll be fine we came here to become heroes together so don’t get so shy on us”

”gotcha”

”anyways wakaba-sensei could you demonstrate how this serum is made?”

”alright just grab a seat and we’ll get started”

both ren and akechi took a chair and sat around wakaba and her desk

wakaba dragged her way on the chair to her desk and she got out all her equipment and the rest of the materials that were located in the boxes

once she did she sat back in front of her desk and set all of it

”now then you two, I may not be the best hands on worker as I enjoy being behind a computer but that doesn’t mean something like this doesn’t get me excited, now then prepare to witness history being made”

wakaba started working on this drug that could force people to have palaces

little did she know that the history that was making wasn’t the one she was intending

but it was revolutionary just like she wanted but for the wrong reasons

and one of the main reasons akechi and ren are now at odds

but she didn’t know that after all a breakthrough in science was one of the greatest achievements some one could find

and one of the biggest detriments to society if someone were to get their hands on such a substance

but this event had already met its fate and the future was forever changed because of it...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued...
> 
> I’m putting a bit more emphasis on wakaba’s presence in this story as she’ll be an important piece to the puzzle later on
> 
> COUGH wakaba is also the first mental shutdown victim COUGH
> 
> Had to get that off of my chest


	83. Hawaii trip part 1

_**Evening before Hawaii trip** _

ren was working in the cafe while futaba was eating her curry and sojiro was having a smoke break

”hey kid, you’re heading on a school trip starting tomorrow?”

ren was in the middle of washing dishes when he glanced behind him

”yeah so you’re going to have to watch the shop by yourself” ren finished washing and he turned around with a smirk “are you able to handle not having help from me and haru?”

”kid I’ve been running this shop for a lot longer than what you are making it out to be, I got this”

”and I’ll be helping out! maybe this time I can be the one who can make coffee” futaba proudly exclaimed

”as long as you don’t wear that ridiculous mask like last time” sojiro didn’t want futaba scaring customers like she did he last time she tried working at leblanc 

”anyways kid we’ll take care of the cat while you’re gone so don’t worry about that”

”thanks I’m glad to hear you will” ren was grateful that sojiro would agree to babysitting morgana

”if I didn’t it would meow like crazy and make me feel all guilty for it”

futaba had an evil grin as she eyed down morgana who was sitting on the floor minding his own business

”hey mona I’m gonna be your master from now on so you get to do what I say!”

morgana could feel the hairs on his back rise as there was some malicious intentions in futaba’s voice that morgana did not like it one bit

morgana turned to ren and started to plead with him

”ren are you sure you can’t bring me along? there has to be a way that I can sneak in the airport!”

”sorry buddy you can’t come even if I tired they’d probably kick you out and you would have a harder time trying to get back home”

morgana nervously gulped as he looked to futaba “please be gentle...”

”oh don’t worry I will”

”futaba don’t bother the cat he seems like he’ll miss ren enough and I don’t think bothering him would make it better” sojiro scolded futaba before she could commence her attack on morgana’s smushy face

”anyways ren I forgot to mention but you must bring me some souvenirs since you are now my sibling”

”no law states I have to and I am not obliged to”

”sojiro can you make ren buy me a souvenir since he’s now my brother!”

sojiro looked at her a little surprised “since when did you two become siblings?”

”it’s a bit of a story” ren said as he picked up morgana in his arms to lightly pet him

“well maybe you should head for bed, you wouldn’t want to be late and not go on the trip” sojiro took the cigarette out of his mouth and his snubbed it into the ashtray that was on the counter. he looked up and gave ren a serious stern look “if I see that you are here because you woke up late I am going to kick you out because this week should be an off week where I don’t have to babysit”

”got it I won’t bother you any further”

”then have a good night and sweet dreams” sojiro said being uncharacteristically kind to him

ren smiled as he knew deep down sojiro did care for him “thanks”

once ren headed upstairs futaba looked to sojiro

”can people on probation even go to Hawaii? isn’t that illegal?”

”not unless I give my consent for him to do so and it’s not gonna me my problem if he gets in any trouble” sojiro grinned to himself

”sounds like someone doesn’t want to bear the responsibility anymore”

”could be” sojiro laughed while futaba stared blankly at him 

* * *

_**Ren’s attic** _

up in ren’s attic he placed morgana on his bed while he began to pack his luggage

morgana’s tail waved around slowly as morgana looked down at the ground

”we won’t be seeing eachother for nearly a while”

ren saw the sadness in morgana’s voice and he went over to pet him

ren smiled as he crouched to be on eye level with him “it’ll be fine, I’ll bring you a little souvenir or something”

morgana purred but he still had the same sad frown on his face

”hey ren how do you do it?”

”how do I do what?”

”how you just make friends and make people who hate you like you?” an odd question from morgana but it made sense where he came from

ren basically forgave him after morgana kept trying to one up him so many times in the past and he even held a contest for the two of them only to be topped once again

it didn’t make sense on why ren kept forgiving people

”I don’t know..?”

”I don’t understand how you were able to forgive me even thought I tried to overthrow you”

ren stood up and began to pack his stuff again

”the fear of being loathed and irredeemable..”

”hatred..?”

”I don’t want people to hate me, that’s why”

the silence between the two intensified

”so..you...want to be liked by all?”

”I guess that’s one way to put it”

ren finished packing up his luggage and he began to swap into his night clothes

”so is there a reason..?”

”morgana when you have to keep a secret like the meta nav while your dad is hunting for you and everyone around you is constantly on edge about it, it kinda...kinda gets to you sometimes”

” **mmm....** ” arsene grew a bit restless as he could feel ren not telling the truth

” _I’m not telling them about akechi...not yet_ ”

”but didn’t you say you knew futaba’s mom? and you gave her a calling card so she knows”

”that’s a different thing you’re talking about”

”but ren does anyone else know about it?”

”not sure, maybe there’s probably more people than who I know” ren scratched his head as he actually tried to think about how many people knew about his identity

”well I didn’t mean to take up your time if you already finished you can head to bed I won’t ask anything else” morgana sounded polite as he felt like the conversation was over

”well then good night morgana I’ll see you in a few days”

”night!”

ren had swapped into his night clothes and he headed to bed in order to get up early tomorrow morning

* * *

_**Velvet room** _

ren woke up in his cold hard prison bed and he was back into his jumpsuit

he got up and went to the door where the two wardens and igor were located 

ren looked through the bars to see the caroline stare at him while justine was eyeing down her clipboard

justine looked up from her clipboard and acknowledged ren ”welcome back inmate” justine greeted ren

”so I’m back here again which means you want me for something?” ren said just wanting to go back to sleep

”just advising your actions and telling you what you should focus on”

”so what’s the advice for the day?”

igor laughed “you need to take this more seriously if you wish to avoid ruin”

”can I at least get a hint to what ruin might be?”

”keep on your toes trickster a storm is coming”

ren sighed as he was frustrated with igor not telling him anything

”inmate, the main obstacle you must be faced with is unknown, you must always be ready. you’ll never know when such a case may arrive” justine said in a sincere manner

”I get that but it’s kinda hard if I don’t know what I’m supposed to be watching out for”

”perhaps looking at all of your current enemies may help, it may also help if you look for clues”

”clues..maybe that’ll help me. thanks justine for being so helpful!” ren gave justine a bright smile

justine responded with a smile as ren’s smile seemed to pierce through her and she couldn’t help but smile

caroline hit the cell “anyways inmate is that all of your business for today?”

”I guess so, I’ll see you two another time”

ren walked over to his bed and disappeared back into the real world

”that was a it of an outburst you had there” justine acknowledged caroline very unusual cell banging

”making sure the inmate doesn’t lose track of his mission, he’s meant to save all of humanity isn’t he?”

”he should be but will he make it out alive?”

”no way an inmate as dumb as him couldn’t survive”

”you really do deeply care for the inmate do you”

”an inmate is an inmate”

* * *

ren returned to the real world and he woke up in his real bed

he didn’t have time for much else besides getting ready for the trip to hawaii and his small goodbyes to sojiro and futaba if they weren’t already downstairs

he said his goodbyes to everyone including morgana who didn’t wanna say goodbye the most

probably because he didn’t trust anything that futaba did around him or involving him

”heyyyy moooonaaaaaaa!” futaba said as she was waving ren goodbye even though he had already left

she crouched down and picked up morgana like a small child

”are you ready for me to be your master from now on?” futaba said with a huge gleeful smile

”nooooooooooooooooooooo” morgana bellowed

”sheesh that cat can really make a ruckus this early in the morning” sojiro was spectating the two as he was trying to get his shop situated “try not to bother the cat too much he already isn’t enjoying the kid not being here”

”aye aye!”

futaba left the shop with morgana

”what a noisy bunch”

* * *

_**Airport** _

ren wheeled his luggage towards his friends how all seemed to have arrived before him

”you guys are here? I made sure I came early too” ren looked over to ryuji who could barely keep his eyes opened “I’m surprised ryuji wasn’t late for the first time”

”I made sure of that” mishima said as he and ryuji both went to the airport together after mishima had to drag ryuji out of his house

ryuji yawned “I just wanna sleeep”

ann yawned “maybe I’ll catch up on my sleep on the plane”

makoto nodded with Ann in agreement “good idea we need to be energized if we want to enjoy this trip to it’s fullest”

”anyways shiho how much stuff did you bring for this trip?” makoto looked at the massive amount of luggage shiho was carrying that looked like it was about to burst if you tried to open it

“ **what is she even bringing?** ”

”enough for me to utilize for this trip I’m not wasting a single moment” shiho was highly determined to enjoy every second of this trip

”you’re really anxious to go shiho” mishima said as he didn’t bring too many things along with him compared to shiho

”you can never be too unprepared”

“I think you can”

”no way! me and shiho are going to every place where you can get some juicy food” ann said as she pictured all of the foods that they saw in the brochures

”you think there’s fans of the phantom thieves overseas?”

”probably but let’s put that past us right now” makoto wanted to move on from thinking about the phantom thieves presence in society

”I can’t wait! I’m going to go everywhere I can and nothing is going to stop me” shiho sounded determined to make sure this trip lasted as long as it could “if a single second is wasted someone is going to have to pay hell a visit when I’m done with them”

ren laughed “let’s hope a storm doesn’t hit us”

”don’t say that! you might accidentally curse the trip and if I see that flight cancelled there’s no healing spell that’ll put you back together” shiho stepped right into ren’s face and pointed her finger directly at him “nothing will stop me you hear?”

ren gulped “yes..”

seemed shiho wasn’t messing around and she proved it by acting way scarier than usual

”hey haru what do you think of how this trip will go?” shiho eagerly looked to haru for her input but haru didn’t respond as she seemed to be stuck deep within her thoughts “haru..?”

haru snapped out of it and she looked to shiho “oh yes? I’m sorry I was lost in my thoughts what were you saying?”

”you were pretty lost in there, what were you thinking about?”

”nothing, just about the t-trip and what I could do during then” haru stuttered in the middle of her sentence

” **interesting..** ” arsene felt that there was more in her message than what she wanted to lead on

”anyways before we leave for the flight let’s take a commemorative picture before we go to Hawaii” ann said cheerfully

”I’ll take the photo, but isn’t there too many of us to fit into one big photo?” ren felt like not everyone could fit into one photo

”then let’s all squeeze in”

every started to huddle up as ren held his phone in the air with the camera app on

”huh oh where am I supposed to look?” makoto huddled in and didn’t know exactly where to stare

”I believe it’s that black circle thing on the top” haru didn’t know how phones worked but she tried to help anyways

”3...2...1” ren started to countdown as everyone posed and got into position

ren pressed the button and the photo was taken

ren then got a closer look at the photo and he showed the group the picture

”nice we all managed to fit in”

a buzz came from ren’s phone and ren checked who it was

[F: why are you taking pictures at the airport?]

[F: go to Hawaii already then take pictures I don’t wanna see pictures of you in an airport]

[F: >:( ]

[F: P.S. ryuji you got gunk in your eyes, clean it]

ryuji looked at the message and he took her advice

”there is!? is she psychic?” ryuji didn’t understand how futaba already saw the picture

futaba had messaged ren directly through her computer back at home

“that’s kind of creepy” mishima didn’t like the stalker-esc vibe futaba was giving off

[F: shut up side character you’re lucky you even got a persona >:p ]

“but do you also have access to his camera?” ann said curious to the access futaba had on ren’s phone

[F: nah i just put a little app on his phone when ren was sleeping in my room when I was trying to take down medjed]

”so you used the opportunity to exploit me, how nice of you” ren said sarcastically as he wasn’t too stoked about having his phone basically strip searched and then have an app that probably tracked all of his moves and his messages

[F: isn’t it!?]

[F: :-) ]

“don’t look at anything of mine that is private, it’s private for a reason” ren pleaded with futaba to at least give him some mercy

[F: finneeeeeee]

[F: I wasn’t going to do anything :-P ]

“just don’t go through it and if you do that I’ll get you a souvenir”

[F: a small price to pay for souvenir]

ren closed his phone and sighed

” **she has a lot of info at her disposal** ”

” _which is why I’m making sure she doesn’t check anything in my phone_ ”

” **it’s not like you got anything bad in there** ”

” _there’s a lot from over the years you know_ ”

” **messages are messages they don’t mean much** ”

” _you understand nothing_ ”

ren put away his phone into his pocket and he looked at the others

”she really is scary when she wants to be huh” shiho said a little frightened by the real power a hacker like futaba possessed

“I’m just glad she’s on our side, if she wasn’t it would’ve been the end of us” makoto was grateful that they saved futaba when they could and that she was on their side

”the end of the phantom thieves all because of one tiny shut in behind a computer screen” ryuji bluntly said

and another buzz came from within ren’s pocket

however ren ignored it

”you gonna get that?” ryuji asked as he pointed to ren’s pocket

”it’s a message from futaba probably saying ‘screw you ryuji’ or something along the lines insulting you“

”anyways the flight is coming soon let’s go” shiho picked up her luggage and jogged to where they needed to be in order to get on the plane

everyone else followed her and they got on the plane

* * *

they all were aboard the plane and it took off eastwards towards Hawaii

ren got the window seat and he eagerly stared  out the window as the plane took off

both mishima and ryuji were also in the same row as ren

”stop laying your head on me!”

ryuji was laying his head on mishima as he had passed out immediately as he sat down in his seat

mishima tried to love his head away from his direction

” **so we’re going out of the country..what do you think we can do?** ”

” _i don’t know what do people on vacation usually do_ ”

” **hell if I know but it’s probably a lot of relaxation and laying back** ”

” _but there’s so many requests I could do right now instead of this_ ” ren wasn’t into laying low, staying quiet and staying out of the metaverse for long periods of time

” **consider this as a time where you can finally rest and make a plan on how to deal with akechi** ”

” _oh that’s perfect_ ”

” **try resting first and enjoying your time instead of working your body to it's last fiber** ”

” _fine, maybe this can be my break from the metaverse_ ”

” **that’s the spirit!** ”

” _but arsene..you think there is a way for me to tell the group about everything?_ ”

” **as long as you pace yourself evenly enough I think they’ll appreciate everything but if there’s anything that you need to admit to is akechi** ”

” _I think that’s too much for one conversation_ ”

“ **well we may not have enough time to explain that if they find out like they did with wakaba** ”

” _guess I should start planning_ ”

* * *

_**Futaba’s room** _

futaba was at her desk eating some leftover curry that sojiro had made prior to this

morgana was sitting on a drawer that was right next to her desk staring at futaba who was effortlessly tearing into her curry like some beast

”hey futaba what did you do with those flash drives?”

futaba looked up to morgana and she swallowed the mouthful of curry she was chewing on

”I left it inside that drawer you’re sitting on, I wanna make sure I won’t ever lose something like that”

”it’s kind of surprising though, but it makes me wonder what ren knows”

”doesn’t ren trust you or something? you usually have those late night conversations” futaba still kept up her habit of listening in to leblanc if she was bored and hearing all of things that went on in there

”I think he does but he is still too mysterious and confusing for me in order to understand half of the things he says”

”I think that little cat brain of yours is a bit too small for us big human words” futaba spoke as if she was really talking to a pet

”I’m not a pet”

futaba grabbed morgana’s cheeks ”yeah yeah, you and your cute squishy face say otherwise”

morgana forced futaba’s hands off of his face

”stop! anyways we need to work on searching the information we got off of that other flash drive”

”righto, guess I’ll get too it”

futaba started to type away at her keyboard

”is there anything I can do?” morgana’s tail swished around back and forth as he wanted to be helpful in any way he could

futaba looked at him and then back to her computer screen

”just be you and stay a cute little cat”

morgana’s tail dropped down along with his ears

morgana got off of her drawer as he was just discarded as a cat once again

morgana looked back at futaba to see her not pay attention to him as she was busy silently typing away at her keyboard intensively

morgana left her room with the same gloomy trot

”I’m not just a cat..”

* * *

_**Hawaii** _

the group got off the flight and they were able to take in the bright blue sky along with the Hawaiian sun

”holy crap! it’s just like how I’ve seen in all those brochures! this is so beautiful!” shiho looked around with bright sparkling eyes as she couldn’t believe she was stepping foot into Hawaii “what should we do first!? surf? paragliding? hula dancing? or try all of these delicacies that are here?”

”slow down first we still have to go through and get all of our luggage” makoto tried to calm down the hyper active shiho

”makoto what about the foods! they are waiting to be eaten”

”we can do that later now let’s go get out stuff and get out hotel situation sorted out”

”hmph” shiho didn’t wanna wait

”let’s just go through and we’ll have fun once we do get ourselves situated” ren assured

”duude those beaches look better than the ones in japan!” ryuji blurted out loud for the group to hear

”really!? where? I need to see!” shiho rushed over to ryuji’s side to see how the beaches looked

makoto sighed “can we at least not try to stand out? it would be best if we didn’t try to get everyone’s attention”

haru giggled “I think that may be impossible for us”

ann nodded alongside haru “that’s just how us phantom thieves roll”

”it’s more enjoyable this way” ren laughed as he saw both ryuji and shiho go ballistic eyeing down the scenery

after that the gang had to go through the Hawaii airport and they had to go through security and they made it to the open Hawaiian sun

”this is hawaii?” ren was confused as everything seemed way brighter than back home

”aloha!” a native came by to greet the group with a guide book in his hands. he pointed towards the large buses “the buses you are taking are that way”

”oh thank you-“ ren was about to thank the man

”woah! you speak Japanese?” ryuji cut ren off as he was surprised a Hawaiian native was speaking to them in Japanese

”why yes I believe I’m quite fluent in it” the man smiled at ryuji as he understood why ryuji would act the way he was doing right now

”oh really? D-O-Y-O-U-U-N-D-E-R-S-T-A-N-D-W-H-A-T-I-M-S-A-Y-I-N-G?” ryuji rudely attempted to test the man’s Japanese

shiho slapped him over the head which caused ryuji to recoil and hold his head in pain

”mind my friend here he can be a bit off putting sometimes”

”it’s fine no need to worry” the man laughed it off

”by the way can I have one of the guides if you can spare?”

”sure thing” the man handed shiho a guide to Hawaii which shiho gratefully took “have fun and enjoy your time in Hawaii” the man smiled

”I will!”

eventually they were able to get on the bus they needed to go in order for them to go to the hotel they were staying at along with the teachers and the rest of their classmates

the bus was a huge tour bus that had windows that they were able to see through

all though they weren’t together in the same seats they were all able to get a bigger look at the scenery and enjoy the new atmosphere that surrounded them and how different it was compared to the big city life they were regularly accustomed to

it was an enjoyable sight to behold and it got some smiles out of the group

a nice warm reaction

and some people reacted..

”holy crap! ann we need to go there! I heard it’s a good place to experience all of the Hawaiian gourmet, I’ve seen it in the brochures”

very enthusiastically

”I see it! but it’s very far”

”here use my binoculars” shiho handed ann some binoculars

”why do you have binoculars”

”you can never be too unprepared”

ann took the binoculars from shiho’s hand and she began scoping out the area “well doesn’t matter now we can see all the best places”

maybe a bit too over enthusiastically..

and after that small bus ride they stepped out in front of the hotel

”so this is the place we’ll be staying at?” ren said curious to how large and spacious the interior might be

”it’s very large” mishima added “maybe there some special perks that we get inside here”

”anyways we need rooms in order to do what we want? then I call dibs on rooming with ren” ryuji wanted to get a head start on the rooming situation

”hey no fair!”

”sorry Sakamoto-kun you have to room with your own class to not confuse role call” kawakami walked towards the group along with makoto and haru walking next to her

”awww come on can’t you make one exception”

”as if anyone is lousy enough to room with you” ann mocked ryuji

”like you’re any better you don’t know anyone” ryuji tried to come back at ann

”it doesn’t matter I’m rooming with ren” ann said with a smug look

”sorry takamaki-san no mixed gender mingling, that’s off limits”

”awwww can’t you make an exception?” ann pleaded using ryuji’s near exact line

”haha! you can’t room with ren” ryuji mocked ann

”you can’t either”

the two ended up bickering back and forth to eachother

ren sighed “even though we’re across countries nothing changes huh”

”hey ren you wanna room with me?”

”sure why not, it’s the easiest choice”

and just like that ryuji and ann’s bickering was wasted

”anyways you guys, find someone to room with and make it the same gender and not someone from a different class please” makoto advised to the group mainly towards ryuji and ann

”hey takamaki-san! suzui-san!”

ann focused her attention off of ryuji and onto the two girls that were walking towards them

”oh hey it’s my old volleyball teammates” shiho was surprised they were walking towards them

”you guys need roomies? we don’t have any”

”sure if that’s fine with you” ann nodded as her room situation was now cleared

”yeah same and since we’re teammates it’s easier” shiho was relieved that she didn’t have to look far and wide for a roomie

”perfect! why don’t we take a walk together you two seem pretty knowledgeable about Hawaii”

”sure! I’ve been meaning to check out that ice cream parlor” shiho took this as an opportunity to scout out the shops

”then let’s go!”

the girls were about to head off but ann had to say a quick goodbye before she did

“see you guys later” and before she could truly leave she had to quickly give ren his goodbye. ann walked up to ren “see you later~” and gave him a quick smooch on the cheek before leaving

”well that settles that” kawakami turned towards ryuji “now you need to find someone to room with”

”I will I just gotta find someone” ryuji couldn’t go alone so he had to find someone from his own class

”let us assist you ryuji! it’ll be a fun trip” haru said joyfully

”thanks haru you’re a life saver”

ryuji went along with haru in a search for a classmate for ryuji to bunk with

”well then I guess we’ll be off to make sure everyone else has a room” makoto said before she and kawakami walked off to speak to the other students leaving mishima and ren to themselves

”so..wanna take a gander at the hotel?” mishima suggested

”might as well”

” **what do you think we can do...?** ”

” _surf_ ”

” **have you ever surfed?** ”

” _worth a shot_ ”

” **time to get some popcorn for this one** ”

ren and mishima entered the hotel in order to get a key from one of the teachers for their room

” _regardless of that I think it’s finally time I enjoyed myself_ ”

” **thata boy, now let’s go onwards!** ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t know how many parts I’ll make the Hawaii trip but it’ll be a few chapters with some more stuff crammed in it
> 
> I may go back and forth between Tokyo and Hawaii for certain purposes...


	84. Hawaii trip part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know I really was considering what I should do with this chapter so it took a bit
> 
> Wasn’t sure if I wanted to keep it a peaceful chapter with nothing but chill and nice vibes coming out of it or if I should switch it to Tokyo for a little or if I should go with a flashback of one of ren’s past memories
> 
> But this’ may work

mishima and ren headed up towards their rooms

they took the key they had received from one of the teachers and they opened the door

”whoa..” ren was shocked to see how the room looked

it was a standard hotel room but there was a balcony that had a direct view on the beach below

the beds seemed to be of high quality at least way higher quality than ren’s bed back in Tokyo

there were two beds a sofa and a personal bathroom in the hotel room

”this is nice” ren was glad he could indulge at a place like hawaii

”well now that we have this settled what should we do first?”

”i don’t think everyone is going to join us soon so let’s just walk around on the beach” ren dropped his luggage on his bed and opened it

”well you can change first I don’t feel like going in the water just yet but I’ll meet you there soon enough” mishima dropped his luggage near the bed that ren didn’t take

”you sure? have anything you wanna do first?”

”I wanna work on the phan-site so I’ll see you all later” mishima tried to walk away from ren

”weren’t you going to take a break?” ren questioned mishima

”I never said I was so I’m going to do some work here” mishima kept trying to walk away

ren grabbed mishima’s shoulder “sorry but we’re in this together, you don’t get to leave so easily”

mishima looked to him confused as he thought ren would be the most understanding to his constant tweaking and check ups on the phan site

”but I need to do this”

”we need breaks yuuki, it’s not good if we constantly keep working our butts off”

” **says the one who wanted to do requests instead of having fun** ”

ren silently groaned as arsene was right

”alright I guess I’ll meet you at the lobby for us to explore the place “ mishima walked over to the bathroom “I’ll change in here”

”go for it I won’t peek”

mishima entered the bathroom and closed it behind him

ren sighed as he went through his luggage and pull out some swimming trunks and a dark black t shirt

”guess I should start changing”

” **don’t worry I won’t peek** ” 

“ _why does that matter!?_ ”

” **I thought you’d want your privacy** ”

” _I don’t- never mind I’m not gonna question you_ ”

* * *

once ren finished changing he headed down to the lobby and then outside

mishima wouldn’t mind if ren took a little walk before he even got down there with him

” _I should’ve picked a different shirt this black one is absorbing too much sun_ ”

ren had foolishly wore a black t shirt to cover up his scar filled body

” **well when you have a body that most convicts would be afraid of, a shirt doesn’t matter as long as you’re covered** ”

if ren got a tattoo and permanently wore his contacts instead of his glasses he’d be easily able to be associated with most crime organizations

” _well at least everyone else doesn’t see me as a criminal_ ”

” **only a little still** ”

ren sighed “ _great.._ ”

”yo! ren!”

ren turned around to see ryuji run up to him

ryuji was still in his uniform most likely insinuating that he still hasn’t found a person to share a room with

”ren! I’m sorry for the interruption were you busy?” and running along behind him was haru who was still currently helping him try to find a roommate

”hey you two, what are you doing together still?..and still in your uniforms” 

“ryuji has had some misfortune trying to find someone to share a room with” not even haru could convince someone to room with ryuji

”there all just a bunch of dicks anyways why can’t I room by myself?” ryuji complained as he had been turned down by nearly every guy he’s tried asking

”ryuji you can’t be like that, there must be someone nice that’ll let you share a room with them”

”pshh, like that’ll happen. all of us have some stupid label and I’m the one who has one of the worst ones next to ren” ryuji kicked the sand under him

”do people still think of me as a criminal? I thought I was past that”

”nah they still do but more silently so they don’t accidentally piss you off”

”is that why people don’t look at me!?”

”you haven’t noticed?” ryuji assumed ren knew about it but that ren neither cared nor let it get to him

”i thought I was past that and that people looked at me like a normal person”

ryuji laughed “how did you not know? I thought it was obvious”

ren turned away in defeat and embarrassment as he was more oblivious than he thought

”anyways wanna take a quick stroll? I got nothing else to do”

”ryuji we still have to find a roommate for you, we can’t give up just yet” haru still had high hopes for ryuji and giving up wasn’t an option for her

”but haru..” ryuji whined

”not buts” haru grabbed ryuji’s dollar and she lightly pulled him along “onwards!”

ren laughed as he saw ryuji get dragged away

after he was finished with laughing he went back to see if mishima was finally finished with changing into his bathing suit

eventually ren made it back to the hotel and he saw mishima at the lobby waiting for him

”where were you?” asked mishima as he didn’t know where ren had gone to

”got some sun, now let’s go” ren started to walk off immediately as he was able to converse with mishima

”you really don’t wanna take your time do you?”

”it’s time we enjoy ourselves”

” **jeez you’re a hypocrite** ”

* * *

finally both mishima and ren were able to reunite and they took a stroll across the beach

they looked around at all the other people that were at the beach, at the food stands or just walking around on the sidewalk enjoying the bright sun

”it’s nice how we’re able to go on a trip to hawaii even when the principal is being caught up in all of his problems”

”yeah but this is probably to cover it up and it’s way more convenient since the second years seem to be the most affected”

”yeah but it’s still nice though”

”I never thought I’d go to a whole different country and while under probation no less..” ren sighed

”how is that whole probation process going?”

”it’s fine as long as I stay out of trouble”

”but isn’t all of what you’ve done so far make you guilty?”

”as long as they don’t find out that is” ren said with a smug smirk on his face

”I see..but ren”

”yeah?”

”why are you so tense all the time?” mishima asked as ren always seemed to have a serious look all the time

this question nearly made ren choke on his own breath

”am I..tense?”

”sorry did I make things awkward I didn’t mean to! I was just curious that’s all” mishima thought he may have been the conversation more awkward than it should’ve been

”it’s cool you didn’t make anything awkward”

”are you sure you kinda reacted weirdly and I thought that meant I messed up another conversation”

”it’s cool you don’t need to worry so much”

”are you sure?” mishima wanted to make sure

”yes! you really need to have more confidence in yourself”

”I really do, it’s hard to win isn’t it?” mishima laughed

ren slouched his arm over mishima shoulder as he messed up his hair in a friendly fashion 

“that’s why you have to try harder if you want to get what you want” ren had a bright smile on his face as he messed with mishima

”ren let go!” mishima tried to struggle

”you have to fight in order to win mishima now what’ll be your next move from here”

ren continued to laugh as mishima kept attempting to struggle

eventually mishima swing his fist and he got a solid blow onto ren’s body which caught him off guard and took his breath

ren let go and held his side “nice..”

”you ok? I think I hit you pretty hard there”

”you have grown stronger you’re just not willing to let that out yuuki”

”huh..?” mishima was confused

”try to keep you head high and you’ll see what I mean”

”ok..? is this some kind of secret phantom thief code word?”

”of you wanna take it like that sure but you’ll see what I mean later on”

both of them for a few buzzes from their phone

they each reach into their own pockets to take out their phones

[S: you guys done? I’m going to leave you guys behind if you don’t respond]

[Ry: finally! it took me awhile but I did it]

[S: cool, now come to the front of the hotel me and ann will be wiaitng]

[H: I’ll be there soon!]

[F: and I’ll keep watching]

both ren and mishima closed their pbkens

”guess we’re finally doing something”

”I’m surprised shiho hasn’t already done something yet”

”she’ll explode if we don’t get there right now” ren jokingly said

”right! we have to get there fast” and mishima misheard it and ran off without ren

”and there he goes”

” **tense huh** ”

ren’s bright smile went away as he thought about what mishima said

”do I let it out more than I want to?”

” **make your next choice wisely ren** ”

”you say that like I’m going to die” ren brushes it off

arsene sighed as ren wasn’t going to listen to him regardless of what he tried to say

”anyways let’s go”

ren started to walk off

” **fool..** ”

* * *

ren walked over to see the group huddled up near the front of the hotel all of them in their bathing suits

shiho noticed ren and she waved at him

”ren hurry up we have no time to waste you know!”

”you’re really antsy for this aren’t you?” ren replies as he walked up to the group

”of course I am, now let’s move!” 

”to where exactly?” makoto asked a little curious to what shiho had in mind

”uhhh” shiho pulled out the guide as she didn’t know where exactly to go. she then stopped at  a certain page and pointed forward “paragliding let’s go!”

”on second thought I’ll pass” makoto stepped away from the group

”me too, I’m going to go hula dance with makoto” ann also walked away from the group

”eh?” shiho was shocked to see those two walk away

”well then if there going to do that I’m going to go surf, I’m not in the mood for paragliding” ren stepped away as well off into a different direction

”fine then! well have fun ourselves right guys?” shiho looked to haru and ryuji for their compliance 

both haru and ryuji nodded

”what about you yuuki?”

shiho looked over to see mishima slowly inching his way away from the group

mishima felt a small hand grasp at his shoulders firmly and tightly

”what about you yuuki-kun?” shiho sounded dead serious and as if she was going to murder mishima if he said no

”I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I” mishima couldn’t get any words out of his mouth as he was paralyzed by fear

”great! alright let’s all go paragliding” shiho happily dragged the still paralyzed mishima along

haru and ryuji looked at eachother and shrugged their shoulders but followed on regardless

* * *

ren walked over to the beach to see if he could rent something out from a rental shop 

whether that be a surfboard our a large float it didn’t really matter as long as ren was over the ocean 

 _”now which one should I_ get?”

“ **you should try diving if you wanna be over the ocean** ”

” _maybe another time_ ” ren looked gloomier than usual

” **something on your mind?** ”

” _I...feel emptier than usual_ ”

” **how so?** ” arsene was intrigued

” _it’s hard to explain.._ ”

” **why don’t you speak about it and clear your thoughts over the ocean** ”

” _right.._ ”

ren rented out a surfboard and he headed over to the ocean

ren stepped into the cold shallow water and he began to go in even more

as he did the water continuously rose above his ankles to his knee then his thigh and then onto his waist

he placed the surfboard down and started to paddle more and more out into the ocean

the farther he went the smaller everyone on the beach became and eventually he went far enough that everyone out on the beach looked like little ants 

ren looked up to the blazing sun

he reached out and used his hand to cover the light from hitting his eyes

the light heat of the sun brushed against his body

the august sun 

it reminded him of something..

* * *

_**A grassy field - 3 years ago** _

“ren you gonna get up?”

someone was calling for ren

”ren!”

but ren wasn’t getting up for some reason

”come on we’re busy”

the person was getting impatient

”didn’t you say yourself that you wanted to take this person down?”

ren opened his eyes to see akechi staring him down

ren was laying down in a grassy field with a tree above him giving enough shade to cover his head from the blazing sun

akechi was tapping his foot on the ground waiting for him to get up

”five more minutes” ren said as he closed his eyes once more

akechi sighed and laid down  directly next to him as he had given up trying to get him up, too much effort for him to deal with

“you wanna hang out with everyone after we’re finished?” ren suggested

”sure I haven’t spoken to them in a while”

”hey goro..”

”yeah? what’s the matter now?”

”you think I can fulfill everyone else’s wishes like I did with yours?”

”what do you mean mine?”

”well aren’t you the big detective you’ve always wanted to be? not to mention that you’re starting to gain popularity”

”I haven’t even done anything yet ren, you don’t need to go ahead of things”

ren chuckled “why should I? I already know what’s going to happen, I’m psychic don’t you know?”

akechi slapped ren in the chest

”very funny of you but be serious ren, we have to always be careful it’s not good for us to go straight forward into trouble”

”what’s the harm in doing so?” ren said confidently

”you never know when something may happen”

”speaking of happening” ren sat up “what about those guys in suits who came up to us that one time? have you seen them again?”

“no, however they did say they would keep in touch but even so I’m not quite sure, but keep an eye out”

”I’ll keep three out”

”ren be serious about it”

”I am” ren lied with a huge grin on his face as he stood up and dusted off his clothes to make sure there was no grass that stuck on him

“ren actually take this serious please!” akechi also stood up but he was dead serious with ren

” **you really should** ” arsene advised

ren sighed ”alright I’ll think about it” ren looked away from him and he stared up into the sky

”but it can’t be anything too hard, we’ve almost died a few times before so it should be easier” ren used his hand to block the sun “nothing we can’t deal with right goro?”

”I’m in your debt”

”then let’s do this”

* * *

”maybe if I took him serious back then”

” **hey ren look to the beach** ”

ren listened to arsene and looked towards the shore

”so what am i supposed to look at?”

all of a sudden ren got thrown off his surfboard as a massive wave collided with him forcing him into the water

ren quickly swam back up and got back on his surfboard

”what the hell was that!?” ren said pissed off that arsene tricked him 

“ **you didn’t notice the wave so I decided to mess with you just a little bit** ”

”thanks asshole” ren huffed

” **anyways ren you got a clear head yet?** ”

”is that why?”

” **part of it but you seem very stuck in your head at certain times..** ”

”what’s that supposed to mean?”

” **it’s...hard to explain..** ” arsene stared at ren with intensity

”well it involves me so I guess it probably is..”

” **wait..I..it’s..mmm** ” arsene couldn't get his words out correctly 

“anyways arsene you mind helping me?”

” **with what?** ”

“I wanna get a gift for ann, think you can help?”

” **why would you need my help? I think you can do fine on your own** ”

”wait please! I’m not sure what to get” ren pleaded

” **listen I was walking indulge with you in searching for someone to be with but this is about as far as I’ll take it you hear?** ” arsene tried to set ren straight

”come on don’t be a jerk I need help with it!”

” **ren I do not care for it anymore, deal with your relationship issues on your own time** ”

”can’t you at least give me some advice!?”

arsene groaned “ **buy her a necklace or something, a ring is meant for married couples so a necklace or a bracelet should do fine** ”

”thanks partner!” ren smiled

” **good luck with that** ”

”now back to what I was doing-“

another wave slapped ren off of his surfboard and it threw him back into the water 

arsene shook his head “ **he is still the same after all the time** ” arsene laughed “ **maybe it’ll work in our favor** ”

* * *

_**Later** _

ryuji was helping mishima walk as it looked like his soul had left his body

seemed paragliding was too much excitement for his body and mind to deal with and all that was leftover was just an empty vessel that was named yuuki

”shiho perhaps that was too much for yuuki to take” haru said as she stared at ryuji walk the dead mishima

”nah he’s fine, he can just walk it off”

”even so we should be more considerate to yuuki’s feelings”

”pshh, sounds like he didn’t wanna get the full Hawaiian experience” shiho tossed haru’s concerns aside

”don’t worry haru I’ll get yuuki to working order soon!” ryuji said as he shook mishima around

”eghhh..” mishima groaned

”see he’s already better, now let’s go find the others!” shiho said as she marched onwards to find the others

the three followed behind her as they tried to look for the others

eventually they found ren who looked pretty soaked as he had just left the water

ren was currently looking at some touristy stand that sold souvenirs

”hey ren what are you looking at?” shiho waved at ren from afar

ren noticed shiho

shuhi jogged up to ren and noticed what he was looking at

”necklaces huh? saving one for ann?” shiho asked intrigued

”yeah I just don’t know what to get her, I don’t wanna disappoint her”

”here let me help you” shiho gazed at the wares

”have an ideas?”

”hmmm ann isn’t the type to really ask for much as long as there’s love I think so as long as it’s nice and pretty to look at should be fine for her”

”I’ll look for others tomorrow maybe I can get a clearer hold on what I should get for her tomorrow”

”good idea, anyways can you help us with this?”

”with what”

ryuji dragged mishima along as he was started to get tired from carrying him as he had been carrying him from all the way from the paragliding station to back down to the shore

”here let me help” ren rushes over to help ryuji

”thanks man but you should’ve went gliding with us that shit is so damn fun”

”was it?”

”one of the best moments of my entire life, and the funniest when yuuki screamed like a small baby” shiho recalled when mishima went and he started to wail like there was no tomorrow

”I mean he did say he had a small fear of heights and stuff” ryuji remembered how mishima said he didn’t like heights all too much

”well he should’ve told me”

”can’t argue with that logic, anyways ren mind carrying him to your hotel room? thanks!”

ryuji put all the weight of mishima into ren

”I’m tired and you share a room with him so it’s only fair” ryuji said as he stepped away from ren

”how nice of you to dump yuuki on me” ren said sarcastically

”I’ll make it up to you later on if you wanna do something together” ryuji suggested

”sure a little rendezvous with us guys would be fine”

the three started to walk away from ren

”we should go scuba diving” shiho suggested wanting to use this vacation to its fullest

”nah I’ll pass on that” ryuji said bluntly

”what about you haru?”

”I think I’ll pass on that as well” haru said softly and with as much kindness as she could put

”awww come on!”

the three ended up walking away from ren and mishima

ren sighed and then started to make his way back to the hotel

”can’t believe ryuji dumped you on me”

”thanks for this ren I didn’t know how long I had to keep this dead act for” mishima suddenly stood up and started to walk by himself

”wait!? you weren’t dead?”

”no I was pretending so that shiho didn’t try to force me to do anything else” mishima shuddered as she still felt her scary glare on him “she’s so scary when she wants to be”

”anyways let’s go back to the hotel I’m tired from being in the water”

”what did you do?”

”play in the water and that’s really it”

”better than being dragged by shiho”

”I think you just haven’t toughened you yet”

”I don’t think I can with her around”

the two laughed with eachother all the way back to the hotel

* * *

_**Hotel** _

ren was laying down on his bed as he changed into some clothes for him to sleep in while mishima was still working on the phan site

ren was already about to head in for the night when mishima called him

”hey ren” mishima said as he looked to ren who was about to go to sleep

”yeah?”

”I wanna thank you for helping me, and I’ve actually wanna confess something to you”

”what’s that?”

”I’ve been getting bullied it ever since we helped futaba I’ve actually been able to get back at them, not in the physical way of course I couldn’t! I mean like mentally”

”you stood up to them?”

”yeah! it was so cool but I was so nervous but it was so awesome you should’ve seen it I talked back and everything!” mishima was really excited to reveal that to ren

”nice, that’s pretty reassuring to hear after all”

”and it’s all thanks to you ren, if it weren’t for you I wouldn’t be here right now, I would be the same old person just stuck in the background while being picked on but now that’ll be no more!” mishima pumped his fist into the air “I’m a new yuuki!”

ren laughed “that’s a good feeling to have” ren also pumped his fist into the air “to a better life!”

”yeah!”

”alright I’m gonna head to bed” ren laid back down into his bed

”wait so soon?” mishima was hoping to talk more

”yeah we are probably going to go out more and I wanna get something for ann so I don’t wanna oversleep”

”we’ll good night, I’m gonna work in the phan-site I’m the meantime”

”have fun...” ren started to close his eyes and doze off into his dreams

mishima could hear the light breathing of ren sleeping as he worked on his website

”kunikazu Okumura? why is he number one? I wonder he’s been picked so much. but Okumura...maybe I should ask haru about this”

mishima was unsure about who Kunikazu Okumura was but it seemed familiar to him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I’ll save the Tokyo chapter for next time
> 
> I was going to stick it in for this one but I decided not and that messed up the rest of this chapter


	85. Meanwhile in Tokyo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Its time I set up the stage for a future chapter(s)

_**Tokyo** _

futaba entered into leblanc with morgana in her arms

”hey sojiro!”

”morning futaba, did the cat behave?” sojiro greeted futaba while puffing a cigarette that he lit before futaba arrived

”he sure did, uup” futaba walked over to a stool and sat down putting morgana in he stool next to her “so what’s on today’s menu?”

”curry and coffee as always”

”but didn’t haru teach you about cookies? why can’t you make those?” futaba complained as sojiro didn’t make cookies himself but he left it to his two ‘workers’

”I’m not a baker, more of a brewer”

”hmph...” futaba laid her arms and head on the counter

sojiro noticed this along with here continued bored expression

”bored because the kid isn’t here?”

”things are fun when he’s around and now everything is boring”

”well that’s because we can’t go to the metaverse without him” morgana was busy cleaning his arm while futaba was moping

”seems like the cat also misses him too” sojiro didn’t hear what morgana said as all he heard was meows

”I wish anyone was here really they’re all fun to be around”

*RING*

”hey there!”

futaba’s eyes moved towards the door to see it slowly close shut and a cheerful detective step in

futaba groaned

”what’ll it be?” sojiro said “and who’s your friend?” sojiro saw a younger man behind him 

“ah this my coworker akechi-kun, you’ve probably heard of him”

”wait he’s that akechi!?” morgana said surprised

”meh” futaba didn’t care and she went back to fiddling with her phone 

“so this is the cafe you normally head to amamiya-san?” akechi took a gander at the ascetically pleasing cafe 

“yep and this is my friend sojiro!” kazuma said as if he was presenting in front of an audience

”I’m not some kind of prop for you to use”

”well then I’m gonna go back home or I’ll jsut hang out upstairs” futaba grabbed morgana from the stool and she was about to head upstairs

”aww come on futaba, why don’t we have a coffee or something”

futaba turned around and she held morgana up above her

”morgana, spit out a hairball” futaba lightly shook morgana around

”easy now let’s not use any weapons here” kazuma backed up as he didn’t know what that cat was capable of

”I’ll will use him if I have to!” futaba aimed morgana like it was a gun

”I really wish you weren’t the one looking after me” morgana didn’t appreciate being cared for by futaba

sojiro rubbed the back of his head as he looked to akechi “sorry about what you have to endure with him, he has that tendency to be over dramatic”

”why yes I see that..” akechi looked to kazuma and then back to sojiro “but it’s quite refreshing to see an active officer on duty even if it’s very obnoxious at times”

sojiro sighed as he snubbed his cigarette “you can say that again”

futaba made a gun cocking noise with morgana

”futaba put the cat down he doesn’t like being held like that”

”it’s fine! right mona?” futaba held morgana by his arms and she looked directly at him for his response

morgana didn’t even say anything he only had a large scowl across his face as he was frustrated with futaba and her antics 

“anyways before we lose track of time, sojiro pour us some coffee”

”how would you like yours?” sojiro asked as he was about to start brewing

”same as always”

”and you?” sojiro switched his eyes onto akechi

”give me the same but add sugar and milk with mine”

”coming right up” 

sojiro began to make the pair’s coffee while futaba was in the background holding morgana in the air while morgana was pleading with her to put him down

”anyways akechi-kun how has the phantom thieves case been treating you?” kazuma started to make some small conversation with akechi

”I’ve been on and off on that case, I’m letting niijima-san deal with that”

”well what about the mental shutdown cases?”

”I’ve been close but I haven’t gotten a single clue to why these things happen, I could point them to big ceos and people with huge connections and wealth attached to their names but there have been so many random civilians also involved with it thats it’s disheartening”

morgana’s ears perked up

“so that’s where we’re at with this huh..civilians being among the victims” kazuma sighed

”here you two go” sojiro have them their coffee

akechi took a sip of his before speaking again “anyways how has this case been going for you mr heart thief extraordinaire?”

”what’s that name for?” kazuma said intrigued to this nick name that he didn’t mind as it sounded nice

”because of how determined you were to solve that case, bit of a bother don’t you think?”

”I guess so..” kazuma took a sip of his coffee “but that was 2 years ago..people change”

”I guess if you wanted to you could simplify it like that”

”anyways a kid like you shouldn’t be worrying about this type of stuff, shouldn’t you be making the most of your youth?”

”such things like that don’t get me anywhere, I don’t need it” akechi was very particular about this

”aww come on everyone needs to let themselves go at least one or twice”

”well I’m not apart of this everyone you speak of”

akechi continued to sip his coffee as he still kept his gaze forward not even looking over to see kazuma’s reaction

kazuma exhaled “well in case you’re feeling stressed you can always turn to me”

”in that case..”

akechi took another sip before reaching into his pocket with his free hand

first he slid a small note in front of kazuma and then he slid some cash towards sojiro before placing his empty coffee cup on the counter

as soon as he did that he stood up and left the cafe while kazuma sat there and watched

he took the note and it was wrapped in a little red ribbon like a letter

it seemed important to he decided to keep it in his inner coat pocket for now

”so you have to deal with two teens who always keep things a secret huh?” sojiro felt sorry for kazuma

”pretty much” kazuma sighed as he straightened his overcoat out “I have a teen of my own who wants to keep himself in the dark and I have another teen who I work with who doesn’t like talking to me”

”then why’d he even come with you?”

kazuma shrugged his shoulders “I don’t know, maybe to strengthen our relationship together”

”I doubt that”

”come on don’t be like that soji it took a while for you to be friends with me and yet you did anyways”

”that’s because if I didn’t you wouldn’t stop bugging me about it”

“that’s not true and you know it” kazuma was playfully joking around with sojiro

”i still don’t understand what you two are talking about” futaba was standing near the stair case with morgana in her arms “can’t you just ask ren? it works with me”

”I think that’s a little different futaba”

”well anyways I’m gonna go upstairs and poke around ren’s stuff and see what he’s keeping in his room” futaba imagined what treasures ren was hiding

”have fun and don’t make too much noise, I’ll have your dinner in an hour”

”okie dokie! time to go peak at his stuff, right mona?” futaba held morgana up to look at him

”I have to be honest I’m a bit curious to what he has in there, I never checked myself” due to good reason as his paws limited most of his movements

“ok I’ll be back soon!” futaba zoomed upstairs

futaba went upstairs and she plopped morgana down on the ground

morgana shook and then jumped on top of ren’s bed

futbaa peeked around as she hadn’t had a chance to get a really good look at ren’s room

she first started at a large cabinet that houses some cardboard boxes

futaba started to fish through it

”hey mona have you seen what is kept in some of these boxes?”

”clothes probably”

”then what’s this?” futaba held a gun in her hands as she was surprised to see it in ren’s possesseion

morgana looked at it for a second and then nonchalantly spoke as he was used to ren having a fake air soft gun

”it’s an air soft gun that probably isn’t loaded”

futaba inspected the bottom “yeah you’re right, there isn’t even a cartridge in here” futaba dropped it back into its box “useless”

she kept scavenging through more boxes and other places where ren kept some of his stuff

she eventually found a red and white mask that could cover a person’s entire face

futaba didn’t even think twice before putting it on

”hey mona how do I look?”

”like a real thief” morgana said genuinely as the mask was pretty cool 

“to think he had some pretty cool stuff in here”

futaba put the mask back and she went back to rummaging through some of ren’s stuff again

eventually she got impatient and she decided ‘screw it’ and dumped out all of box’s contents

all scattered around were either clothes, bags of random materials most likely for ren’s tool bench, and other things that ren had stashed for some reason and that didn’t interest futaba

except for some small pictures that flew out

futaba reached out and gathered all the ones that tried to escape and she started to inspect them

at first they were just pictures of his friends from Kyoto

simple pictures that didn’t need much else to talk about besides a bunch of pictures of ren and his friends

most of the pictures were like that and it disappointed futaba as it wasn’t the ‘secret treasure’ she hoped ren was keeping

”hey isn’t that also a photo?”

morgana pointed to under the cabinet where futaba got the box

futaba saw it and she reached under it and got the photo

the picture was a little dusty but futaba cleaned it off

it was a picture of ren and a boy with brown hair and a dumb plaid shirt that futaba didn’t like

”who’s this dum dum?”

futaba waved the picture to morgana so that he could get a closer look

”maybe one of ren’s old friends” morgana tied it to that

“he looks like a dweeb” futaba placed the photos back into the box

”are they all of ren’s friends?”

”yeah they are, speaking of ren’s friends did he ever talk about them to you?”

”not that I know of, haven’t you spied on him and his conversations”

”can’t, ren told me to not do it and makoto will probably tell me to stop it”

”you could do it without him knowing..”

”but if I did ren would find out and he wouldn’t help me buy games”

”couldn’t you just get someone else to do it”

”but ren is super cool and he is my brother which means cooler perks too”

”such as..?”

”he buys me snacks” futaba said proudly

ren did sometimes go into the convenience store and buy futaba some snacks when he came back from school

and those rare times when sojiro allowed him free reign in the kitchen and ren made dinner or if he decided to test some new things out futaba would be the taste tester

”I guess that’s a perk of having ren around”

”by the way before I joined what did ren do, someone as mysterious as him had to still be cool?”

”nearly get himself killed every time we did something and throw himself into the action any chance he could”

”sounds difficult but the cool kind of difficult”

morgana sighed

futaba went back to searching through boxes 

a few minutes passed by with futaba still throwing stuff around

“is there anything else you can find in there?”

“nothing but junk and some random stuff” futaba groaned as there was barely anything that ren had that peaked her interest

”well I don’t think he’s that dumb to kee a bunch of things lying around”

”figures that ren wouldn’t keep anything interesting here”

”maybe he has them all in an even more secret place”

that thought made futaba very interested and she started to over think it

”like a secret base or something?”

”probably..?”

”now that sounds interesting, let’s go ask his dad”

”why don’t we just ask ren?”

”mona please, any sane person wouldn’t tell people about their secret base. we have to go about this the civil way”

morgana sighed as futaba marched downstairs

futaba went downstairs with morgana following close behind her 

to her surprise kazuma was still there speaking to sojiro while he was cooking

they were talking about boring adult business talk and they were throwing names that futaba didn’t recognize around the place

but futaba ignored all of that and she walked up to kazuma

”hey do you happen to know if ren had a secret base or something?”

kazuma put a hand to his chin as he thought about it “did ren have a secret base? hmmm....”

”oh boy” sojiro wasn’t ready to deal with kazuma

”I believe Yeah, for a boy as secretive as him he might have a whole secret operations base under Kyoto for all I know, maybe his probation was a set up”

“that sounds interesting” futaba also thought about that scenario

”no he does not” sojiro said as he wasn’t dealing with kazuma’s shenanigans

”you don’t know sojiro, it could be true”

”you are a middle aged man yet you have the brain of an infant, you know that”

kazuma laughed “I do get that a lot”

”anyways I’m all seriousness I don’t know what’re you are talking about” kazuma revealed

”lame” futaba wandered away as she stepped into the kitchen to see what sojiro was making

”it’ll be ready I’m a few minutes so sit still until it’s done”

futaba walked back to the bar and she sat in one of the stools

”shouldn’t you be at work?” futaba said as she looked at kazuma who was still in the cafe

”not today”

”then why do you have your overcoat on?”

”i have to be ready at any time”

kazuma’s phone started to buzz

”speaking of being ready, looks like I may be back on duty”

kazuma stood up from his stool

”see you all at another time?”

kazuma stepped out leaving the two sakuras and morgana to themselves

”how did you know him” futaba asked curiously

”long story”

”how long?”

”very long”

* * *

_**Yongen-Jaya** _

kazuma answered his phone

it was the police chief probably calling about a crime

“hello? detective amamiya speaking”

[we need you to head out towards the downtown Shinjuku an accident occurred and it may be involving the mental shutdown phenomenon again]

”on it”

kazuma hung up the call and started to jog towards where he parked his car

he didn’t waste a single moment before getting in and starting the car

once he turned it on he sped off quickly towards the scene of the crime

kazuama went into his coat pocket and took out that note akechi gave him

he stuffed it into one of the cup holders

”later, I don’t have time right now”

the sun was starting to set as kazuma kept driving off towards Shinjuku 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like I’m gonna cut this chapter short just to make it more convenient for the next Tokyo chapter when I stuff it together with kobayakawa’s death


	86. Hawaii trip part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand I didn’t add the closure for the hawaii tirip

_**Hawaii** _

mishima opened his eyes as he awoke in his hotel room

he still couldn’t believe they were in a different country 

he sat up and stretched his arms out

the sun shined through the curtains

mishima sat up and got out of bed yawning as he opened the curtains to see the bright hawaii sun bask over the coastline

before he did he heard some rustling from ren’s bed

he looked over to see ren still sound asleep but his face was tense and he was sweating profusely

he was confused by this

“maybe he’s having a bad dream?” he told himself

mishima slowly walked over and he got an even closer look to ren’s very tense face

ren was tossing and turning around in his bed like he was trying to escape from something

mishima was starting waver if whether or not he should wake up ren

but he convinced himself in his head that he should wake him up, after all ren seemed to be in pain so he might as well help him out

mishima was about to try to shake ren to see if he would wake up but as he tried to do so a burst of wind came flying towards his face that made him flinch and close his eyes in response

mishima slowly opened his eyes to see ren’s hand balled up in a fist barely a few millimeters off from colliding with his face

mishima’s expression went from a cheery smile to a shocked and scared expression

he fell backwards on the floor and he got a good look of ren’s face that was filled with pure hatred, anger and hostility 

ren who still had his fist in the air right in front of where mishima face once was realized that he was awake and not dreaming

he looked down to see mishima on the floor still scared and frightened by the speed and force ren’s fist had packed

ren realized what he had just done and his face became bursting with shame and embarrassment 

”yuuki! my bad I didn’t mean to-“

”nah nah it’s cool, I should’ve have woken you up” mishima stood back up still startled from ren’s sudden awakening

ren sat upwards and he felt truly sorry for mishima 

“its fine I’m glad you did but...I’m..sorry for almost punching you”

”do you usually do that? not the punch I mean toss and turn in bed? it looked like you were in real pain”

ren rubbed his head as he tried to find a way to explain it to mishima

”it’s just a nightmare I had, nothing more nothing less”

”oh alright, but you were super..uhhh how do I say it...” mishima tried to think “the only word I can think of is aggressive”

”like I said I’m really sorry” ren kept apologizing

”it’s fine..” mishima stood up and walked to the bathroom “you don’t mind if I go in first right?”

”sure have at it..”

”thanks!” mishima smiled before he entered the bathroom 

ren fell back down on his bed as he reflected on what he had done

ren breathed out a heavy sigh as he stared blankly at the ceiling

” **nightmare again huh** ” although ren couldn’t see him he knew arsene was there somewhere in his room

”yeah...I messed up”

” **you have had your nightmares so I won’t peg you for that** ”

”...”

” **what even causes them?** ” 

”I don’t know..”

neither of the two could figure out why these nightmares were occurring

” **is it a sign of something?** ”

”a sign?”

” **aren't dreams and nightmares meant to be precursors to something bigger?** ”

”well if it is then it means I’m dying” ren said without problem as he got out of bed

ren started to get a fresh clean shujin uniform out of his suitcase and he began to change into it

” **so...what’re you gonna do about it?** ”

”face it head on”

” **so you’re just going to wing it like the reckless person you are?** ” seemed ren was gonna be stubborn with his planning once more and just roll with whatever he gets

”what else do you want me to do?”

” **at least plan for what might come to you** ”

”akechi is coming after me and that’s all I can figure out on my own”

” **you want to at least go more in depth with it?** ”

”like how?”

” **I don’t know? at least think about what his next move will be?** ” arsene wanted ren to take things a little more seriously

”I am but there isn’t much he can do without facing me head on and I think I can handle him in that regard” ren confidently bragged

” **you’re acting too carefree ren** ”

“and you’re acting too cautious” ren wanted the conversation to be over and done with

” **this isn’t something you can dispute** ”

”then so be it”

ren sighed as he finished putting on his uniform

ren walked over to the bathroom door

”yuuki I’m going to go down and meet up with everyone else”

”that’s cool! I’ll be in here!” mishima sounded like he was in a bit of pain and the fact that he had been there the entire time ren was changing and trying to get his head straight

”you alright?”

”just some indigestion that’s all!”

”are you allergic to seafood?”

”no, at least I hope not”

“did you drink the tap water?”

”no...” mishima lied

”you’re not supposed to drink the tap water yuuki!”

”I’m sorry it just happened”

”well I’ll wait for you in the lobby

ren walked over to the door and he left the hotel room going over to the elevator tos we of he can meet up with everyone else

* * *

_**Lobby** _

ren walked around the lobby in search of the others

eventually after a bit of bumping into the other students he saw everyone except makoto and mishima there

ren walked up to them

”oh hey ren” ryuji yawned

”didn’t get any sleep?”

”the guy I’m crashing with is a loud snorer”

”that’ll do it you”

”well anyways, haru have you seen makoto?” ann looked to haru for answers

”I believe she's trying to help students with their issues”

”really?”

”yes, I believe she had to wake up early just to help out some of the students and some other issues ” haru shared a room with makoto and she remembered waking up to not see makoto anywhere in her room

”this really is just a cover up isn’t it?” shiho said disappointed “first we have no actual group planning and now nothing is happening”

”well we do have student chaperones for a reason”

”that’s true, that damn bastard is trying to get his way and avoid attention” ryuji was pretty agitated with kobayakawa but for very understandable reasons

“any who what do you guys wanna do today?” shiho asked as she was dead serious in spending as much time

”I just wanna relax for today so I won’t be accompanying you in any exciting activities shi-chan” haru politely said

”shi-chan?”

”yes, shi-chan!” haru has a big happy smile on her face

”shi-chan it is then” shiho didn’t mind the nickname haru gave her as it was a testament to their friendship “well I wasn’t planning on that either way so you’re fine”

“oh alright”

“anyways what are you all doing anyways?” shiho looked to the boys

”just gonna hit the beach and search for some foreign chicks” ryuji had a big grin as he was hopeful that he would find a lady to hook up with

”you’re so one dimensional” ann shook her head

”shut up! can’t a guy dream?”

”only if it’s reasonable ryuji, and what you just said is anything but reasonable”

”ren you believe me right!?” ryuji looked to ren in desperation

“as long as you keep that same energy I think you can” ren said with sympathy in his voice as he truly felt bad for ryuji

”jeez this isn’t as fun as I’d imagined” makoto walked into the group’s sightlines 

the group turned to face makoto who looked completely exhausted and it was only the morning

”makoto, those are some serious bags under your eyes. are you all right?” ryuji pointed out the dark circles under makoto’s eyes

”I wasn’t able to get much rest, all I’ve been doing is helping people out with their issues, I’ve even helped out some do the teachers for goodness sake and even the taxi driver I was just with needed assistance with something” 

student council president was no easy task it seemed. makoto could easily testify that with her immediately noticeable sluggishness and said bags under her eyes

”you really have been working overtime makoto” ren tried to lift makoto’s spirits by speaking in a lighthearted manner

”this really isn’t any different than japan”

”at least the scenery is nice, if only any activities were actually scheduled and we weren’t just standing here doing nothing”

”well I can’t blame anyone for this trip not being organized, it has been a hectic few days”

”true”

ren looked to the front entrance of the hotel who’s windows looked down under the sun’s glare and showed the beautiful beach and the ocean respectively

”still this is a great scenery, if only yusuke and futaba could see this”

”it is quite a view” a familiar voice spoke

ren looked over to face the voice “yeah it really is yusuke” ren looked back to the entrance just to realize what he saw and then turn to yusuke with a stunned look on his face “yusuke!?”

everyone else was also shocked that yusuke was there

besides yusuke was mishima who most likely walked with yusuke over to where the group stood

“what are you doing here?” shiho said equally as stunned as ren

”it seemed my flight was delayed by a storm that refused to let up and we were forced to take a detour to Hawaii and it just so happened to be the exact island you were at as well”

”do you just bring rain wherever?” ryuji said as it creeps him out that yusuke would strangely bring rain to wherever they went

”you think it’s because of how he acts?” ann said

”yusuke if there’s any storm that comes over here I’ll make sure you don’t come back in one piece” shiho threatened

“I’ll try my best” yusuke was a bit frightened by shiho’s cold expression

”uhh never mind that, what should we do after this?” ren said as he wanted to do things with everyone else

”you get your souvenirs yet ren? if not we should go get some, I still have to get some for my mom” ryuji hadn’t forgotten about his own duties like a gift for his mom

“no I still need to get some for futaba and morgana”

then let’s make it a group trip, what about you guys?” ryuji looked to ann

”well we wanted to go shopping, we’ve been planning it for a while so you boys might have to go alone do that one”

”then you want to grab something to eat before?”

”yes! I need to try some of the food here” shiho’s eyes sparkled as she hadn’t had enough time to taste test all of the food in Hawaii

”may I go grab my sketchbook so I can try to visualize all of my surroundings?” yusuke was already trying to memorize the scenery

”you can do that later I wanna get some food” shiho hadn’t eaten anything as of yet

”suit yourself, but I am quite hungry so maybe it is the better option”

”just remember we have to go through roll call before we do anything, we can’t go all willy nilly. after all everyone of you just to happen to be the problem children of this school” makoto looked to mainly each member of the group by her glare was strongest on ren

ren lightly laughed while he looked away from makoto “I don’t recall anything like that”

”ann please keep a leash on him” makoto requested from ann

”will do!~” ann said playfully

* * *

_**Outside** _

after a boring roll call the group headed outside to grab a bite

ann then noticed the huge glowing Big Bang burger sign

”there’s a Big Bang burger even here?”

”my father is trying to market across the world so he thought hawaii would be the next best venture”

”if it’s hawaiian do they sell hawaiian like foods?” shiho was already drooling

”you mean like pineapple burgers?”

”that sounds good” ann was also drooling as she thought about it

”then let’s order already if you two are gonna drool like that” ryuji said as he started to walk inside

the rest followed and they looked at the restaurant’s interior 

it was the same as any ordinary Big Bang burger with all of its colorful seats and walls

but its menu was more ‘American like’ with all of its extra toppings and it’s serving size

”woah this really is different than japan” mishima eyed down all the menu options

”the Big Bang burger challenge? that sounds very intriguing” yusuke didn’t know such a challenge existed

”yeah but it’s more than what I could handle” not even shiho could stomach that down

”let’s just order something normal like and we’ll be fine-“ makoto was cut off

ren stepped forward and slapped his hand on the counter

”can I take the Big Bang burger challenge?” ren said it with confidence and with no hesitation at all in his voice

”ren are you nuts?” ann said as she thought ren was biting off more than he could chew

”I’m just hungry”

” **h-how hungry?** ” Not even arsene could try to accept the fact that he was actually eating a huge burger

although ren never said nor showed it but arguing with arsene made ren very hungry and he took that opportunity to eat as much as he could

”oh uh coming right up” the cashier bowed “thank you and if you could would you go take your seat”

”thanks” ren walked over and sat down at an empty booth table while the rest if the group looked at him still shocked by what he was willing to do

the rest of the group ordered more normal meals and they sat at the table ren was at

after a while everyone’s meals came out including ren’s meal which had to have a separate tray to carry

”this is your first visit so you’ll eat the first burger, the comet burger. please take your time and I’ll return in about 30 minutes” the worker bowed before leaving to go back to the register

”ren I know you’ve done some crazy shit but are you sure?” ryuji watched as ren picked up the burger in his hands

”oh well” ren started to chow down on his burger

the rest stared for a bit before going in at they’re own burgers

ann took her first few bites before squealing ”mmm!! this is so good!”

”right?” shiho reacted similarly to ann

”this is pretty good, to think this is the same Big Bang burger we see in Japan” makoto didn’t think it was going to be good

”we’ll my father did invest a lot of time into expanding overseas”

”you should tell your dad to keep it up!” ryuji scarfed down his burger

”yes....keep it up” haru silently and quietly at hers

”hey yusuke since you’re here what do you want to do in Hawaii?” ryuji finished scraping his burger down

”gaze at the scenery and perhaps eyes down all the sea life that lurks below” yusuke was fascinated by sea creatures and how they operated

”you’re really into sea creatures huh yusuke” mishima didn’t know much about yusuke

”of course I am, they truly are one of the world’s biggest mysteries”

”that’s quite the vision you have for fishes” haru 

”by the way yusuke you bought lobsters at the beach last time...what happened to them?” haru recalled when yusuke spent his money on two lobsters

”they are at home enjoying their home”

”wait you kept them!?” shiho didn’t believe yusuke

”well of course, the shine of their shells and their structure is simply gorgeous and it’s a must have for artists like me to have” yusuke..kept the lobsters...he has two pet lobsters..

“what did you do? did you name them?” ryuji snorted as he wanted to be funny so he joked around with the thought of yusuke owning lobsters 

“actually they do have names although i didn’t know what to name them but I eventually settled with  Leonardo while the other one is named Vincent” 

“oh...” ryuji didn’t think yusuke would answer seriously

”yusuke really is a bit of a nut case” mishima said quietly so that yusuke wouldn’t hear

”you mind showing me them?” ren was still chewing on some leftover burger in his mouth “I’ll come over to your house next time, you still live in madarame’s place?”

”I believe I told you already but if you could you may and would you please help me with my art?”

”I got nothing better to do, but I’m not wearing anything too revealing”

”fair enough. by the way how was your meal?” yusuke saw ren had finished eating

”pretty good”

”wait ren you finished!?” makoto looked at ren’s empty plate in shock

everyone else stared at ren and his empty plate with disbelief

the only other person who had finished before him was ryuji because he had ate his burger in only a few bites

”are you even human..?” mishima said as he wasn’t even halfway with his

”you really were hungry” ann didn’t even know ren could eat that much in one sitting

one of the workers came up to he table

”and it seems our challenger has finished the challenge” the worker was surprised but gave a smile nonetheless

”sure did, the burger was pretty good”

”thank you, us workers work incredibly hard for your satisfaction. but now that you have conquered the comet burger here’s your prize” the worker held out her hand

ren held out his and the worker dropped a small pin in his palm

”a badge that certifies that you have conquered the comment burger at this Big Bang burger”

ren got a medal that said ‘I ate the comet burger’

the worker walked away from the table while ren still inspected the badge

”dude, how much can you eat?” ryuji was still shocked that ren could eat that much that quickly

”I was just tired and I got hungry” ren wiped the access grease off of his lips with a napkin. ren stood up and waved for ann to let him out of the booth seat so he could leave “I’ll be in the bathroom

”well then I guess that’s our cue to leave”

makoto stood up first and then the other girls stood up

”where y’all going?” ryuji said out of curiosity

”shopping, like we said”

”oh, alright”

”have fun!” mishima waved

the girls left the boys to themselves 

ryuji sighed “so not everyone is going to do the same thing huh?”

”guess that’s how it is” yusuke didn’t mind it too much

”maaaannnn”

”let’s just wait for ren then we’ll go”

* * *

after some more waiting ren finally came out and the group went out once more

”so what’s the next move? what’re going to do today?” mishima wanted to do something interesting and fun

”let’s try to pick up chicks”

mishkma’s tried to laugh his way out of it “heh heh come on ryuji let’s not do that haha”

”hmm? what do you mean?”

”can we just skip the girls for today?”

”yuuki you’re missing the point” ryuji put his hand on mishima’s shoulder “where we are at is ripe for us men to try, without trying who are we?”

”cowards..?” mishima didn’t fully understand

”exactly, and as the phantom thieves being scared is the thing we shouldn’t be worrying for, now come on and let’s go out like how the phantom thieves would”

” **there’s actual intelligence bro spoken by ryuji here, too bad it’s wasted** ”

”I mean when you put it like that then sure” and mishima took the bait

” **it...worked?** ”

” _don’t ask questions just roll with it_ ”

”yusuke what about you” ryuji moves I  to yusuke

”I guess it’s one way to enjoy the scenery”

”ren?” and now to ren

”I’m good” ren was already waking off “I’ll hang out with you later once you’re finished” ren didn’t want to go do that with them

“come on ren it’s hawaii have some fun!” ryuji was now attempting to convince him

”ryuji I think if ann saw me trying to pick up chicks I don’t think I would exist anymore” is me could only imagine what would happen if he did

”I guess you’re right” ryuji rubbed his head in frustration “you owe me some ramen”

”as if you don’t”

”then that’s two bowls of ramen!!” ryuji pointed around ren whole yelling

”alright that’s fair”

”hell yeah, free bowl of ramen”

ren laughed as he separated from ryuji and the rest of the guys

* * *

ren kept walking but it looked like he had no idea where he was going

” **what’s the plan now?** ”

” _I’m going to do what I wanted to do_ ”

” **buying ann a gift?** ”

”mmhmm”

” **do you even know what you’re getting?** ”

” _maybe there’s a small stand somewhere around here selling something at least_ ”

ren kept walking with no sight of such a stand anywhere

it was starting to get late and the sun was slowly setting

though it wasn’t time to head back yet so there was at least time to keep searching

as ren kept walking aimlessly he saw a familiar face

it was haru sitting all by herself at a bench staring at the beach most likely pondering to herself about something

whatever it was it seemed kinda heavy as haru had a gloom over her face

ren slowly approached before speaking to haru

”hey haru”

haru snapped out of her train of thoughts before she turned to face ren

she put a very bright and cheery smile on her face

”hello!”

”what’re you doing by yourself?”

”I wasn’t really into the stuff they had in the shops so I opted to just sit here and enjoy the sounds of the waves crashing down on the beach”

”makes sense being rich and all”

”oh I didn’t mean that as a show of wealth! it was just I wasn’t feeling it” haru didn’t mean for ren to take her message like that

haru didn’t like her wealth being put on display in conversations

”I know I was just joking with you that’s all”

”oh alright”

”anyways why are you just sitting by yourself?”

”the waves are soothing to hear”

”that’s true, these waves are really soothing to hear”

”indeed”

the two looked forward at the beach and the waves crashing down onto the sand below

”but haru..”

”hmm?”

”you have something on your mind don’t you? that smile of yours..it isn’t a real one isn’t it”

haru laughed lightly while suppressing her emotions “how could you tell?”

”you’ve been acting like that the entire time we’ve been in Hawaii, how could i not notice” ren had good perception

”seems nothing gets past you” haru laughed “maybe I should learn that skill of yours” haru kept laughing before dropping her smile and coddling her knees closer to her chest “it’s..my father...he is forcing me to have a fiancé and it seems like he might try to force marriage between the two of us”

”that’s terrible how long has this been going on?”

”only before the actual trip did my father start this but he may have had this planned for a while now”

”why?” ren was starting to get angry

”my fiancé is the heir to a very powerful and influential family, if my father gets in good graces with him than he may get the influence and power he wants”

”has he always been like this?” ren was getting worked up

”no...there is good in him I know it. back when I was younger he used to play with me and always made sure I was happy but.. it’s as if he doesn’t care who I am anymore” haru has hope for her father

”wait your father..is he the one on the top of the phan-site charts?”

”yes...and I know he has a palace too as I went with morgana into his palace but I wanted to help you and morgana our with the castle first”

”why didn’t you speak up?”

”I didn’t want to be a nuisance especially after everything all of you went through” haru looked up to ren with tears in her eyes

ren was taken a back and he regained his composure “well it’s fine now, why don’t we help you with your issue”

”but what about the black mask?”

”we’ll save that for later, you’re in trouble and it’s only natural for us thieves to help out those in need”

haru wiped the tears from her eyes “thank you for helping me with my selfish request”

”it’s fine so why don’t we go back to the hotel”

” **what about your gift hunting?** ”

” _later.._ ”

”right” haru stood up and she had a genuine smile on her face “I shouldn’t be all gloomy I have all of you to turn to, this isn’t like me”

”we all have our moments”

”well thank you for it but what should I do on my part?”

”well let’s sit tight until after hawaii for us to go back to work”

”that sounds fine and thanks again ren for helping me with this”

”like I said, we’re friends aren’t we?”

”of course why was I being so narrow minded”

”anyways the sun is starting to set so let’s go back”

”right”

* * *

_**Ren and Mishima’s room** _

ren sat down on his bed while mishima was checking his phone

”so yuuki how did it go?” ren referred to ryuji’s attempts to pick up women

”same as always, ryuji getting rejected and yusuke being yusuke”

”and what about you?”

”I stuttered while trying to speak” mishima didn’t want to admit that but he did regardless since it was ren

”that sucks”

”so what did you do?”

”tried to go window shopping but I don’t know any of the shops around here”

”so none of us got what we wanted eh?”

ren laughed “we’re all unlucky”

”anyways I’m gonna hit the hay”

”wait yuuki before you do I have something I need to tell you”

”what’s up?”

”we’ll it’s about the phan-“

*Knock Knock*

a knock came from their door

ren stood up and walked over to see who it was

ren opened the door and saw ryuji who was obviously angry with something or someone

”hey ryuji, come on in”

ryuji stomped his way in and sat down on their couch

”so what happened?”

”my roommate brought his girlfriend and I couldn’t stay in there any longer or I would’ve died from how awkward it got in there”

”so what’re gonna do now?”

”I’m gonna stay here for tonight if you don’t mind”

”but they’re two beds” mishima didn’t know where he’d sleep

”well there’s this couch so just give me a blanket and-“

*Knock Knock*

another knock came from the door again

”I got it” ren walked over to the door and he opened it

he saw ann stand right in front of the doorway with a frustrated look on her face

”ann!? what’re you doing here?”

”my roommate went to her boyfriend’s room so she isn’t there and she has the key to the room”

”did you lock yourself out?”

ann looked away as ren was right as she accidentally locked herself out of her own room

ren laughed “you air head”

”shut up!”

”well come inside anyways”

ann entered in and sat down on ren’s bed

”so mind if I stay in here for tonight” ann said out of the blue

”huh!?” all three of the boys said simultaneously

”well there’s no one else I could stay with”

”what about shiho?” mishima didn’t know how this would’ve worked

”I can’t wake up her up now! and she might be talking to her volleyball team mates”

”well we can’t sleep in two beds and one sofa, someone has to take the floor” ren clarified as there wasn’t enough places to sleep on besides the floor

”why don’t we play a quick game of cards then? I brought em over in case I wanted to play with you guys” ryuji took a deck of cards out of his pocket

”so you have those on you at all times?” 

“you always have to be prepared”

”well then I guess let’s settle who gets what”

everyone gather around and ryuji started to deal the cards to each person

” **you got this ren** ”

” _there’s no way I can lose_ ”

* * *

”how did I lose?”

after the game it ended up being mishima and ann taking the beds, ryuji getting the sofa and ren getting the floor

”you lost so you get the floor”

”I’m sleeping on the floor in my own room...this is complete crap” ren wasn't too happy about it

” **that’s really unlucky of you** ”

” _I don’t need you to rub it in_ ”

”well good night guys” mishima turned off his lamp

”night” ann turned off hers

ren sighed “night...”

ren closed his eyes for a little

..

Bzz Bzz

a buzz came from ren’s phone

ren looked at his phone to check who it was

it was ann who had sent ren a message directly for some reason

[A: you wanna come in sleep here?]

” _what!?_ ”

ren wasn’t prepared for this random text from ann

“ **and you’re saved** ”

[Re: what do you mean here?]

[A: in the same bed of course]

ren decided to take up on her offer

[Re: are you sure?]

[A: don’t make me wait it’s embarrassing enough for me to type this all out]

ren gulped and he began to slither towards his bed which was being occupied by ann

ren slowly entered the bed and he got into the covers

ren started to whisper “are you sure about this?”

”of course I am!” ann was also whispering as to not bother the other two

”but what if they see us?”

”so what? it doesn’t matter”

”you’re nervous aren’t you?”

”s-so what if I am? it’s just proof of my love towards you” ann was a bit nervous as she had never done this before

”if you’re uncomfortable I’ll just leave” ren didn’t wanna ruin ann’s time in Hawaii 

”no! stay here”

”I want you to enjoy your trip so I’ll let you have my bed”

ren tried to back out of the bed

ann grabbed ren’s arm close to her and she tired to keep ren there

”it’s fine”

”your heartbeat is raising” ren could feel Ann’s heartbeat

”it’s fine! just come here”

ann grabbed ren’s head and she got him close to her bosom

ren didn’t know what else to say as it was obvious ann was going to keep him there

”just sleep here with me please” ann said im a soft low voice

”fine..” ren submitted and she hugged ann bringing them even closer together

both of them started to relax finally

”thank you ren”

”no problem” ren gave ann a quick kiss before he started to drift off to sleep

ann giggled before whispering into ren’s ear “I won’t let you go”

rem held ann tighter “me neither”

” _its so...warm..._ ” ren was sleeping easier than he did the previous night

” **sweet dreams** ”

both of them slept soundly in each other’s arms for the night

and it was probably the best rest ren had gotten in a while

nightmares not included

* * *

_**The next morning** _

”so this is how you found them?”

shiho was standing over the couple’s bed and the both of them were still peacefully sleeping in eachother’s arms

”yep, don’t know exactly what happened but I think I can figure it out by myself” ryuji also stood next to shiho

”let’s just leave hem there, they’re having a good nights rest” mishima didn’t want to bother them

*Snap*

shiho took a picture of the two sleeping together

”let’s see what ann will say about this one”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m gonna either add a part 4 or I’m meshing two chapters into one for my own sake


	87. Hawaii trip part 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Procrastination is my biggest weakness

* * *

ann rubbed her eyes

*Snap*

someone took a picture of her

after rubbing her eyes and getting fully awake she realized who was standing above her

it was shiho who had a very smug smile while she was holding her phone, presumably taking photos

after ann realized that she immediately jumped out of bed

she tried to grab shiho’s phone but she missed and crashed onto the floor with a big thud

that noise made ren wake up

rem rubbed his eyes

”hmm..?”

”don’t mind me lovebirds just go back to sleep”

”huh..?”

”well I’ll leave you two to it” shiho slipped out of the room while whistling

”I need to get that phone!” ann got up from the floor

”what? what phone?”

”I’ll explain later!”

ann quickly gave ren’s forehead a kiss before she left the room chasing after shiho

ann knew immediately after seeing shiho’s smug face taking pictures of the two that she was going to put this over ann and she would constantly tease her about it

she couldn't let that happen

shiho’s teasing was the one thing she could not let slide otherwise it would mean bad things

ann had to chase after shiho to try to explain what had happened before anything else happened

* * *

_**Shiho’s room** _

after ann chased shiho they stopped at her room to talk

her room wasn’t occupied by anyone so it was an easy discussion with no interruptions so ann was able to give her side on what had happened

to shiho’s obvious teasing and laughing 

shiho laughed “you idiot you locked yourself out!” she started to laugh even harder

”I had no other choice!”

”sounds like an excuse to sleep in the same bed as him” shiho was still snickering

”it’s not! I just..didn’t want to bother you” ann tried to weasel her way through shiho

“mmhmm and grass isn’t green” shiho called her bluff

”shiho!”

shiho kept laughing while ann was getting more frustrated and embarrassed with shiho

”it’s fine ann you were in the heat of the moment and you didn’t consider my room because you thought i had people with me”

”yes that’s exactly why” ann hoped shiho finally understood her predicament

”but I never knew you were so bold, I always thought ren would be the first to do it”

ann’s face turned red out of embarrassment “shiho! I just felt bad for him, he had to sleep on the floor”

”a perfect chance to sleep with him” she snickered

”shiho!”

”what? did you not enjoy your time with him?”

”t-that’s not the point!”

”oh? then what was the point” shiho said smugly

”the! t-the was that I felt bad for him as since he’s my boyfriend I should be obligated to help him”

”oh? using big words I see but if you wanted to sleep with him you should’ve asked first, knowing ren he would be okay with you being in bed with him”

”no he would not have!”

”then why did he also go in bed with you?”

”he tried to leave but I held him there..”

”so you did want to sleep with him”

”that’s not the point!” ann kept clarifying

”oh ann why can’t you be honest with yourself” shiho kept teasing ann whilst snickering

seemed ann wasn’t going to get past shiho

she silently pouted as her only option as this point was to accept defeat and move on from shiho’s giggling

* * *

_**Ren’s room** _

ren stood up from his bed

he gazed at the window for a little bit

” **got something on your mind** ”

”I felt so safe...”

” **safe..?** ” arsene was confused by what ren was trying to signify

“it’s hard to explain..”

” **that’s what love does, it makes you feel like you have someone that’ll protect you** ”

“mm..” ren agreed with a mumble

tue sun gleamed brightly through the window

” **well it’s time to go you have stuff to do** ”

”hey arsene..”

” **yeah?** ”

”do you think...I’ll actually be able to confess and tell everyone about what I’ve done”

” **one step at a time ren, one step at a time** ”

ren changed clothes and left his room

he walked towards the elevator and he took it towards the lobby

ren entered the lobby and he walked around

”no ones here” ren tried to look around for any of his friends

“guess it’s my chance to go shopping”

ren took his chance to go shopping as this would most likely be his last chance to buy ann a gift

”ren how nice it is to see you”

ren look over and he saw yusuke walking up to him

”what’s got you in a good mood?” ren saw yusuke’s smile

”well it’s that I’ve been thinking on how I should improve my artwork and so I decided that if I were to put on a smile like haru I would be able to see other aspects of life”

”well that’s a good thought to have, looking at different aspects may help you”

”people don’t see what I have made but maybe there’s another reason to that”

”as long as you know what’s got you stuck then you’ll be able to figure it all out”

”your thoughts are always helpful in anyone’s times of needs” yusuke complimented ren’s thoughtful words

”I’m not that helpful I just say what I think” ren said modestly 

”well would you like to accompany me for the time being?”

”sure I don’t see why not”

* * *

ren and yusuke stepped out of the hotel and out into the open and the direct exposure of the sun

they took a little stroll on the shore line as yusuke kept looking at the waves and he wanted a more closer look at them

”so is this what you wanted to do?” ren questioned as yusuke once again eyed down the waves

”I need to try to capture what is missing from my artwork”

”maybe it’s not a thing but a feeling” ren said, he didn’t know much about art yet he was helping yusuke so he didn’t know exactly how to help yusuke

but then at that moment it clicked in him “ren..what did you say just now?”

”what did I say?” ren was confused

”yes, what did you just say right then and there?”

”maybe it’s not a thing but a feeling..?” ren was confused and he didn’t know what yusuke was getting at

”that’s it!” yusuke grabbed ren’s shoulders to ren’s shock at his very unexpected reaction of his

”maybe it’s a feeling, perhaps that’s what I’ve been searching for!” yusuke had finally found the answer to what he’s been needing

”glad you found it yusuke, but could you let go of me please?” yusuke’s grip was kinda tight on ren’s shoulders

”oh I’m very sorry I didn’t mean to have an outburst like that” yusuke apologized

”it’s fine seeing as you’ve been brooding over that for weeks”

”yes it has been quite difficult but that is to you I made her one step closer to finally figuring it out”

”we’ll I’m glad you did, are you still going to look at the waves for inspiration or are you planning something else?”

”maybe later you seem like you want to do something”

”I do?” 

”do you? I was merely assuming”

”well you were spot on regardless” ren rubbed the back of his head

“so what is it that you wish to do?”

”I wanna get ann a gift but I can’t find a place that’ll give me what I’m looking for”

”have you tried to ask anyone else”

”n-no...” ren thought he could handle shopping all by himself

“then let me accompany you for a little longer than”

”you’ll help me?” ren didn’t think yusuke would

”of course I would, I believe it’s only fair that I did”

”thanks yusuke” ren was relieved someone would help him 

“as any friend would”

* * *

the two continued their stroll but this time in search for a place for ren to buy a gift for ann

”have anything in mind?” yusuke asked as they never went into specifics about what ren would get

”no..maybe something she could wear would be nice”

”have you checked any store that sells jewelry” yusuke suggested

”too expensive, I don’t think I could do that and even if I did I might get yelled at”

” **modesty is the best form of flattery** ”

”I’m not sure if that’s right” ren said out loud

”hmm?”

”nothing let’s just keep searching”

ren walked faster and he went ahead of yusuke

they continued their search 

the two ended up finding some places but none to ren’s liking

aftet more and more searching ren couldn’t find anything

the two sat down at a bench to reconcile about their next move from here

”perhaps the shopping mall is a fine place to go” yusuke suggested to ren and they hadn’t gone there yet

”wait there’s one in Hawaii?”

”yes...did you not know” yusuke assumes ren knew because of how confident and calm he was or how he seemed to know the ins and outs of the metaverse and how often he’d receive advice from ren

ren slumped his head forward as he didn’t bother to check what was even in Hawaii in the first place

”no I didn’t think so”

”then we have to cut our losses and continue our journey there”

“my bad I was a bit ignorant on my part” ren rubbed his head as he had to admit his mistakes

”it’s fine we all have our moments of idiocy at times”

”well then yusuke let’s go” ren started to walk ahead

”you don’t know where it is do you?”

”nope!”

yusuke sighed as he rubbed his brow “perhaps being with ann affected your abilities”

* * *

_**Mall** _

ren and yusuke entered in and they started to look around

there was way more of an abundance of flashy stores and eye catching items on display for the two to gaze at

”so this is what a shopping district in Hawaii looks like”

”well then let’s get to it”

the two hustled along around the place looming at a varsity of store in the area

some sold clothing and others sold shoes

there were few that sold accessories along with them but there was one store that caught ren’s attention

it seemed cheap but looked expensive enough to be used as a gift

it even sold pretty trinkets along with it

”how about here? this looks like a good place”

”then let us inspect and see if there is anything that’ll help us”

the two entered in and they started to look around

it was a store that sold both accessories and clothing so there were racks of clothing around the place

ren didn’t care about the clothing part of it as he only came for a ring or a necklace or something he could give to ann

as ren looked around one such accessory caught his attention

it was a goldish necklace with a shiny rose glass pendant at the end that look mesmerizing

maybe this is what ren was looking for and what he needed to give to ann

”this might work” ren picked it up

” **that looks nice, it’ll do just fine** ”

”perfect” ren smiled as he held the necklace in the air to gaze at it using the store’s light

”well if that’s what you’re getting then we can say our mission is complete”

”yep, now I’ll just go check this out”

ren walked over to the counter and he purchased the necklace

after purchasing ren and yusuke left the store

after they left ren gazed at the small bag that contained Ann’s gift inside while they walked

”I’m quite amazed that you didn’t check out all the areas in Hawaii”

”I didn’t think much of it, I kinda just wanted to go with the flow”

”that’s unlike you to let things happen”

”well we’re in Hawaii so I thought I could relax more easily”

”it would be best if we were to lay back for a while, after all you have collapsed a few times”

”I’m exhausted as is” ren laughed

yusuke laughed along with him

as ren tried to walk towards the exit of the mall he ended up bumping into someone

”oh I’m sorry” ren immediately went to apologize as he was the one not paying attention

”no it was my fault....eh?”

in a stroke of sheer coincidence or a stroke of bad luck or a mixture of both ren had bumped into ann right as he was about to leave

right next to ann was shiho who’s expression didn’t even change, she probably saw ahead and saw ren in front of her

“r-ren!?”

”ann!?”

ann seemed more nervous than ren

”what’re you doing here?” ren asked the first question

”n-nothing special just buying stuff..” ann bluffed “what about you?”

”nothing I was just looking around”

”then what about the bag?” ann pointed at the bag ren held

”it’s nothing” ren hid the gift bag away behind his back so ann couldn’t see

”but it had to be something if it’s in a bag”

”I didn’t buy anything” ren tried to convince ann he didn’t buy anything

”then why did you come here?”

”the better question is why are you here?” ren said assertively

ann got caught off guard “I said I wasn't here for anything”

”shiho is she lying?” ren had to make sure and in order to do that she had to heck with shiho who would’ve probably ratted her out for the fun of it

”she’s-“ shiho attempted to speak but ann covered her mouth desperately trying to make sure she didn’t give out what she was doing

”shhh! quiet!” ann conveyed to shiho

”mmrph mm m mrh m” shiho muffled through Ann’s hands

”shut up!”

”so then ann what were you doing here”

”I already told you!” ann got a little frustrated as she’d been asked that question three times times

”so then why didn’t you let shiho speak?” ren said smugly as he had the upper hand

“that’s because of- that’s because...” ann tried to think of an excuse

”of..?”

”I won’t tell you until you tell me what’s in the bag!” ann declared

“what bag?”

”don’t play dumb! the bag that’s behind you back!” ann was flustered and wasn’t taking anymore non answers

”not until you tell me what you were here for”

the two had a mindless bickering session between eachother while yusuke and shiho watched

shiho wiped her mouth to clean it from Ann’s hands being on them “why can’t she be honest for christ sake. now I gotta deal with her sweaty hands”

”is this what they call a ‘textbook couple?’”

”this is way more than that, it’s more like a mind boggling couple” shiho was tired of dealing with their bs

the bickering between the couple went on a little more until the two broke it up

”alright ann we’re going to buy ren a gift, now let’s go”

”wait shiho how could you!?” ann moved her attention to ann and she pulled her along away from the two boys

”that gift you have there better be worth all this trouble!” shiho yelled as they started to disappear in the distance

”it’s nothing!” ren gelled back

”liar! that bag has something for ann”

ren reacted with shock

shiho gave ren a smirk before disappearing in the distance with ann

”well then that was something”

”indeed it was but maybe you overdid it” yusuke proclaimed

”how? I was just tying to keep my secret”

”as if it wasn't obvious”

”was it not?” ren said oblivious to the truth

”I think it was as clear as day to what your true intention were” yusuke shook his head as really did seem like ren inherited Ann’s airheadedness

“regardless I think this is a success” ren smiled as he thought he did well

yusuke smiled as well “i can never help to not smile whenever you do, maybe it is contagious”

”you think so? I never really thought of my smile like that”

”it is quite refreshing to see especially after that very awkward and unnecessary squabble you had” yusuke brought up his take on the event

”my bad I may have overdid it”

”overdoing it always seems to be your go to anyways so I’m not too upset” yusuke started to walk ahead of ren “well let’s go back before it gets dark” yusuke turned to face ren “unless you have more to do?”

”later, I have to get ready first” 

“then let’s go”

the two walked along back to the hotel

* * *

_**Ren and mishima’s room** _

ren took out the necklace from within the bag and he placed it on his bed

ren then started to think on his next move

how should he ask ann out

“hmm?”

it seemed to be quite difficult

” **you’re overthinking it** ”

”am I?”

” **yes..now get on with it** ”

”with what?”

” **contacting ann of course** ”

”right right”

ren opened his phone

he then saw a message from ryuji

he opened the message that ryuji sent him and read it

[Ry: hey let’s hang out since you didn’t want to yesterday]

ren looked at the message for another minute silently before responding 

[Re: can’t already trying to ask ann to hang with me]

[Ry: what!? but it’s bro time!]

[Re: another time]

ryuji didn’t respond after that as he was probably sulking by himself after reading ren’s message

ren took a deep breath before texting ann

[Re: hey I was wondering if you wanna hang out?]

[Re: ;) ]

winky smile face for the extra effect

” **daring aren’t we** ” arsene said sarcastically

after a little while ann responded

[A: yes I do]

[A: meet me at the beach]

ren closed his phone and then started to throw on swimming trousers and a different t shirt

after doing so he looked at his bed and at the necklace he bought for ann as a gift to her

he picked it up and tucked into his pocket into order to gift it to her

”that should be it”

” **good luck with that I’m just gonna float here instead** ”

”any reason with not coming with?”

” **nah, just bored** ”

”we’ll have fun with that

ren exited the room leaving arsene there

not like anyone but ren could see and tell he was there

“ _time is ticking slowly..._ ” a low soft voice peered out

“ **this again?** ”

” _protect him_ ”

” **don’t need a ghost to say that, I’m fine on my own** ”

the voice didn’t respond

it most likely disappeared

” **I’m sick and tired of hearing that voice over and over again** ”

* * *

_**Beach** _

ren walked around and he sat down at a bench

he pulled out his phone and he began to text ann

[Re: where are you?]

[A: coming down give me a second]

[Re: alright]

ren sat back in the bench and yawned

some time passed before ann finally arrived

when she did she also sat down next to ren in her bathing suit

“so we’re finally alone” ren laughed

”it’s about time” ann wrapped her arm around ren’s

”so what is on your mind for right now?”

”food” ann responded quickly without a seconds thought

”that was fast”

”sorry I didn’t eat breakfast so I was hoping we could get something to eat?”

ren sighed before laughing “there a truck selling food that I passed by selling some shrimp, do you want some?”

”yes” ann said just as fast as her previous response

”guess I should’ve have asked if the answer was so simple”

the two stood up and they went to the food truck

the vendor gave ren a huge plate of shrimp

”can we eat all of this?” ren said as he held the huge plate in his hands

”this looks so tasty!” ann was drooling

”thank you sir for the food” 

“you two from japan?” the vendor asked

”mmhmm mmhmm” ann nodded

“so you’ve heard of those thieves and all of the cases, amazing right?”

”yeah it kinda is”

”well send those thieves a message that I could sponsor them or hide versa” the vendor laughed

”we sure will” ann said sarcastically

”well I didn’t mean to take your time so enjoy the shrimp”

”thank you” ren said as he hauled the plate of shrimp to an outdoor table for him and ann to eat

after placing the plate down ann started to dig in”

”not to fast” ren laughed “you might choke”

”I won’t” ann said with shrimp stuffed into her mouth

ren also started to eat his share of shrimps

”this is pretty good” ren mumbles while eating a shrimp

”right?” ann happily scarfed down some more

”you’re gonna get fat” ren teased

”no I’m not!” ann insisted with some shrimp pieces on her face

”say that without food on your mouth”

ann pouted while ren laughed

ann wiped her mouth “that’s not funny”

”it is when you make that face” ren kept laughing “you’re so cute when you do that”

ann blushed “you’re not getting away like that”

ren kept laughing while ann kept eating giving ren a stare in the process

”still it’s nice that we’ve been able to indulge in this kind of luxury, even if it’s a school trip”

”I have to agree this is really nice especially when it’s the two of us”

”hey ann..”

”mmhmm?” ann staled another shrimp

”why don’t we come back to Hawaii next time with it just being us”

“that’s a promise”

”right, a promise”

”now you can’t ever forget about it or else” ann said

”I won’t ever..”

after the two finished eating they spent some more time at the beach, playing in the water, walking around, etc

eventually the sun started to set and they sat back at a bench

”the sun so really pretty when the sun starts to set..” ann stared at the bright orange reddish sun

”it really is..”

ren then thought it would be a good time to bring it out his gift for ann

”hey ann I have something for you that I wanted to give”

”hmm?”

ren then reaches into his pockets and pulled out the necklace he meant to give to ann

”oh shoot it’s a little wet but I picked it out for you” ren handed ann the necklace

ann looked at it very closely

”I bought it because it had a rose on it and it reminded me of you”

ann smiled and she clutched the necklace close to her chest l “I love it”

”thanks I wasn’t sure if this was the right one for you”

”wait was this what you had in that bag?” ann remembered the bag that ren had when she bumped into him in the mall

”yeah? why?”

”then you did have something on you”

”well I couldn’t just say it out loud I wanted it to be a surprise!” ren defended himself

”well I can’t complain too much” ann reaches for something on her

she then held it into her palm

it was two dolls holding hands with eachother

one had short messy black hair while the other had blonde hair resembling ren and ann

”is this what you got?”

”I didn’t know what to get so I got something that represented us” ann said shyly as she didn’t know how ren would react

”I love it”

ann looked to ren with surprise “really?”

”of course, as long as it was a gift from you it has to be good”

”I’m glad you think of it like that” ann giggled while blushing

“well it’s starting to get dark do you wanna-“ ren wanted to go back to the hotel but before he could finish his sentence ann laid her head on ren’s lap

”a bit longer please..”

ren chuckled “sure..why not”

the pair stayed together for a little while longer before finally going back to the hotel and eventually going their separate ways from eachother

* * *

_**Ren and mishima’s room** _

mishima was tucked into his bed covers looking at the Pham site when he heard the door to the room click and open

”hey yuuki” ren’s voice said

mishima was under his covers so he couldn’t see ren but he knew he was there

”how was your date?” mishima peeked above the covers

”how’d you know”

”that’s all ryuji was complaining about when I tried to speak to him”

”my fault I’ll give his a free meal or something if I can muster that up”

”well ren I guess you’re going to bed?” mishima asked

”yeah but I have another thing to tell you”

”what’s that?”

”we’re switching gears when we get back to Tokyo”

”what do you mean switching gears”

”I want to hold off dealing with the black mask for now and I wanna put our attention to the top of the vomiting board”

mishima looked to his phone and he went to see the polls

”Okumura? the ceo of Big Bang burger? what about him? does he have a palace?” mishima fired off questions left and right

”I have a theory about him having a palace”

”you could be right, he does abuse his employees”

”then it should be easy”

”can I ask why you want to do this? especially to haru’s dad” mishima was perplexed by ren’s sudden decision

”don’t tell haru I said this but her father is attempting to give her a fiancé that she doesn’t want”

”why?”

”so he can have more power that’s what. scummy adult”

”how long do we have?”

”I’m not sure, he only announced it recently so I think we should be good”

”well that’s good”

”anyways yuuki I’m gonna go to bed if you don’t mind” 

“sure I’ll..just put my phone away and rest” mishima finally put his phone down

”a different pace huh”

”yep! thought it’d help us”

”we’ll keep at it I need that kind of commitment” ren laughed

after a little more ren changed clothes and he fell into his bed

* * *

_**Night** _

ren couldn’t sleep

“ _hey arsene_ ”

” **hmm?** ”

” _what do you think my next move should be?_ ”

” **that’s a first, asking me for advice** ”

” _it’s just I’m a bit torn between my current options currently_ ” ren was a bit stressed trying to think of what they should go for

” **you need to get stronger, along with everyone else. who knows what might happen if you encounter akechi** ”

” _thanks...I appreciate your input”_

” **anytime** ”

after some more pondering ren finally fell asleep

” **I wonder if this appeased that voice** ”


	88. Trust and Discretion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of hopping around but I’m done with hawaii finally
> 
> Now it’s time to deal with akechi and his plan and the actual plot
> 
> And now we can finally start on the Okumura arc while leading into the next arc basically straight after

_**Hawaii** _

shiho yawned while she held her bags that were once again filled with her stuff

”I didn’t even get to go diving yet” shiho said sad that she wasn’t able to do all that she wanted to do

”it’s whatever, I had fun at least” ryuji didn’t care for it honestly

”that’s because you got rejected by the women over here too” ann rubbed it in while chuckling

“you don’t need to say it like that! we could’ve left it vague and kept it like that”

”but where’s the fun in that?” shiho kept giggling as she spoke

”don’t worry ryuji, you’ll find someone soon I’m sure do it” haru said optimistically attempting to cheer up ryuji

”I’m just grateful that I was able to go on two trips outside of the country” makoto said

”lucky..I wish I could go on another trip next year” ryuji said jealous that makoto and haru were able to go on two trips

”you never know ryuji, maybe we’ll all go on a trip together one day” ren patted ryuji’s back attempting to comfort him

”bro..” ryuji had tears in his eyes as he looked at ren “that’s the best thing you could’ve said”

”anyways I believe this was an enjoyable one for all us to go through and I’m glad that we didn’t go through a storm” yusuke exclaimed

”mmhmm! I definitely had a really good time” ann bobbed her head up and down in agreement

shiho then saw around Ann’s neck there was a shiny necklace of some sorts

”hey ann where’d you get that necklace?” shiho asked as she pointed to it

”secret~” ann smiled as she refused to give shiho a straight answer

”ahem...I think we have a fight to catch” makoto interrupted 

“right..even though were the phantom thieves we have to be normal students” mishima obediently listened to makoto

”all right let’s not keep everyone else waiting” ren said as he walked forward

they walked over to the busses as they weee being transported to the airport in order for them to go back to Tokyo

whilst in the midst of that ren thought to himself

” _I wonder what everyone else is up to_ ” ren wondered

” **probably just he same old stuff. without us nothing is interesting** ”

” _I wonder what my dad is up to_ ”

” **you? worried about your dad without thinking with disgust? woah** ”

” _listen my dad is annoying but he’s still my dad and I can’t just be mean to him_ ”

” **in any case he’s probably off doing some random thing or something. boring police stuff** ”

” _you’re probably right, my dad isn’t that interesting_ ”

* * *

_**Police station** _

kazuma was currently in the police chief’s office giving his report to yesterday’s attack

kazuma held a document in his hands as he slid it on the chief’s desk

”this is my report to that shut down case yesterday”

the chief stared at it before picking it up and examining it

”good work as always amamiya-kun”

”I do try my best”

kazuma turned around to leave

”before you go I have a quick question to ask of you”

”what’s that?” kazuma turned back around

”how have you been dealing?”

”how have I been dealing? what does that mean”

”well you’ve seen a fair share of dead bodies and I feel like it may be impeding on your mental state”

”nope I am still in peak working condition” kazuma said while flexing his bicep childishly

”well that doesn’t sit well with me so I need you to lay off the case and take a break or you can go onto another case, your choice”

kazuma sighed as he rubbed the back of his head “well I guess I have to now”

kazuma then turned back around in order to leave but not before bowing in front of the police chief “if you’ll excuse me”

kazuma stepped out of the office and out into the hallway

”you done with all of that?”

kazuma looked over to see akechi leaning against the wall

“what are you doing here?” kazuma was considerably confused at akechi’s sudden appearance

”well we work on the same case I thought it would be necessary to trade notes, as partners or friends..however you wish to take it”

”I appreciate your assistance either way” kazuma said grateful that he was getting help

”anyways did you open my note?”

”no.. what was in it?”

”my phone number” akechi facepalmed

”oh I should probably do that right now”

akechi sighed “it was meant for you to contact me”

”but then I could’ve given you mine..?”

”it’s more convenient this way I wouldn’t want any of my fans to overhear about this and then stalk you”

”I guess that works..but why was it wrapped?”

”it looked nicer that way”

akechi then began to walk off

”where are you going now?” kazuma asked

”aren’t you going to investigate?”

”investigate what exactly?”

”there was an accident that occurred a few moments ago and I was waiting for a ride to take me there”

”how severe is it?”

”don’t know, only one causality but we better hurry before anything else happens”

kazuma modded before jogging ahead of akechi “then there’s no time to waste”

akechi saw as kazuma jogged last him and then maliciously grinned “yes.. all like it’s meant to”

* * *

_**Scene of the crime**_

the sun was starting to set when the two left the station

kazuma quickly started his car and akechi got into the passenger side before they drove off to where it had happened

as they drove down they saw two police cars standing by with several police officers attempting to control the situation by taping off the intersection

there was also a giant delivery truck and an ambulance nearby the police cars

seemed the accident did end up in one causality at least

as they pulled up to the curb the two could see the paramedics on the scene pull out their gears and try to help out whoever was in need

kazuma and akechi stepped out of kazuma’s car and they began walking towards the intersection where a police officer was currently trying to tape off

the police officer looked up and noticed the two walk up towards the tape and perhaps into the site

before the two could make their moves onto the scene the police officer stopped them

”sorry you aren’t allowed to be here, we’ll fix this situation so if you may can you please turn around and take another route” the officer advised

kazuma smirked and then reached into his inner coat pocket and pulled out a golden badge engraved with letters and his name on the bottom

”Kazuma Amamiya, Private investigator assigned to the Special Investigations Unit and detective extraordinaire, I’ve been assigned this area as apart of an ongoing investigation”

akechi groaned and massaged his brow as kazuma didn’t even sound like a true detective at all, it was not plausible at all

the officer blinked his eyes as he tried to soak in all that he could from the oddball detective who spoke too fast for him to render

“I guess you are....you may proceed..” he nodded and stepped to the side for kazuma and akechi to bypass and enter through

”thank you” kazuma have a bright smile and he walked over to the scene

the officer scratched his head as he never thought he’d meet such an weird detective

”sorry about him” akechi said before following kazuma

kazuma got nearer to the site he proceeded to pull out a breathing mask for safety reasons and just in case it was important

he may have been a goofy detective who was too cheerful for his own good but he still took his work serious when it mattered

as they walked over they saw the driver of the huge delivery truck stationed on the curb with a police officer watching him and asking questions

they also watched as two paramedics load up a person in a yellow suit onto a stretcher

his eyes were closed and he didn’t seem to breathe

below was some dark liquid that was flowing slowly and most likely came from the recipient’s head

the cause of death was most likely head trauma of some sort

and it seemed this seemed to lead deeper than just a simple crash

”uh excuse me” kazuma asked one of the medics

”yes..?” the medic looked up and they attempted to load the stretcher into the ambulance

”what seemed to have happened to him?”

”not sure we were called to the scene immediately and now we have to go the hospital to assess what happened and to see if he can revived so that’s all I can say”

”not like he’ll live anyways” akechi said out of the blue but not loud enough for the medic to hear

”any identity of some sort?” kazuma asked desperate for answers of some kind

the medic closed the ambulance doors as they just unloaded the body into the back of it

”not that I know of and I don’t think I could answer those questions anyways”

”thanks anyways”

the medic went into the he ambulance and the ambulance sped off towards the hospital

”well there goes that” kazuma sighed disappointed

”well if we want answers it’s best to ask him” akechi looked towards the driver who looked traumatized

“you’re right he most likely hold all the answers”

the two walked over to the officer and the driver

the officer turned around and he saw the two

”and you are?”

Kazuma Amamiya, Private investigator and detective extraordinaire!” kazuma proudly said

”we’re detectives if you couldn’t tell” akechi sighed

”I see akechi is also with you so you have to be detectives” the officer backed away “sorry for my rudeness” he walked away

kazuma then moved on to the driver ”now then would you please tell us what happened on your end?”

the driver looked up and he shivered as he spoke still traumatized and spooked from what had happened

”I was just trying to turn right and then this guy was standing still in the road not moving”

”mmhmm” kazuma keenly listened

”and I couldn’t stop... but when I kept honking the horn he just looked up at me and I didn’t even see a flicker of life in his eyes...it was like he died in that moment before I hit him”

”his eyes were dead?”

”yeah...I don’t know how to describe it but there wasn’t any life in them”

“interesting, was there anything else you care to mention?”

”nothing else really..that’s all I know”

”we’ll just hear to the station and they’ll see what’ll happen to you” kazuma scratched his head

”alright..” the driver sat there still trying to accept on what just happened and what he did

kazuma walked away and let the police officer continue in questions that were personal to the driver and not to the case itself

”so, another dead body”

kazuma stepped over the spot where the person had been hit

he bent down on one knee and he examined the dark substance that laid there still slowly flowing down

”a mental shutdown case” akechi said not even looking towards the ground

”it seems we’re on the same page for this one”

”right..” akechi didn’t wanna deal with kazuma

”anyways that’s the almost surface level assumption we got”

“anyways let’s cut our losses for today and let’s move on” akechi walked back past he police tape and to kazuma’s car

kazuma let out a deep sigh before standing back up and following akechi back to his car

after kazuma opened it they both got in silently

”how did you know the incident just happened?” kazuma questioned immediately as he was bewildered by how akechi already knew of it

akechi coughed before speaking “I got a report of it nearly immediately by another police officer that was nearby”

”alright...” kazuma began to start up his car

”you seem on edge? anything on your mind”

”well it’s just the case itself and the fact I’ve been in this for years to see no end in sight, mind if we share notes?”

”I don’t have much to begin with, I’m not super invested in this case and you or niijima-san are already”

”true but any information so better than no information”

kazuma began to drive off

”well I have a feeling it might be a high profile character”

”you think?”

”or it could be someone in a gang”

”like the kaneshiro case?”

”a rival would be most plausible, competition is always a reason to commit crimes”

”by the way I wasn’t allowed to see kaneshiro before and after he died”

”odd, maybe it was a coincidence”

”how did he die?”

”cardiac arrest, he might’ve taken some drugs before or if his goons took him out before” akechi bluffed

”so that’s how” seemed kazuma finally figured out the answer to kaneshiro

”by the way kazuma you have a son?”

”yes? why is that?”

”I saw your reports and such, sorry if that could be considered rude for me to ask such a question”

”no it’s fine I don’t mind at all” kazuma slouched one his seat a tiny bit “my son got in some trouble and he is under probation, luckily ol soji let him stay at his attic and he’s been doing fine since”

kazuma trusted akechi with such personal information about himself

”intriguing indeed...”

”well would you care to have dinner with me? we could chat more that way instead of this sad lonely car here”

“perhaps at a different time I’m not in the mood for a meal currently”

”alright just let me know when and we’ll talk more” kazuma gave a smile

”then I’ll take you up on that offer” akechi gave a huge smirk that withheld his true emotions

* * *

_**Outside of a laboratory** _

”are you sure you want me to drop you off here?” kazuma asked as he assumed akechi would want to go to his house

”it’s fine but thank you for the ride” akechi was ok the curb and he gave kazuma an innocent smile as he waved him off

”alright I’ll see you later then” kazuma drove off while akechi still stood on the curb waving

after kazuma left akechi’s field of view his smile faded away almost immediately 

he then walked inside and began his way into a certain part of the lab where someone was intensely concentrating on their work in the late night

* * *

after he entered the chamber he began to walk to the scientist’s desk

”hello hisoka” akechi greeted the scientist who was diligently at work

”goro, I see you’re still energetic”

akechi then noticed a certain vial on the desk

”is that it right there..?” akechi asked curious to whether it was what he needed or if it was not

”it took me a while but I made it stronger than the last one and I can ensure that it will work 100%”

akechi let out an evil grin “perfect but now I need you to do something else for me”

”again..?” hisoka who was already exasperated from akechi’s last request

”it’ll be important as I’ll be taking out three birds with one stone”

”what’ll it be this time?”

”a non killing tranquilizer that paralyzes a person’s muscles but still has them feel anything and everything on the outside”

”alright I’ll get that done in a few days”

”perfect..”

”by the way what do you mean three birds?”

”that my friend is a secret that i need to keep to myself”

”keep your secrets, just know it’ll all be on you if you mess up”

”don’t worry, I’ll know exactly what to do” alechi picked up the vial and he began to leave

”hey goro! you forgot your anti depressants” hisoka said as he put a bottle of pills on the edge of his desk

akechi murmured to himself before walking back and retrieving the bottle and leaving the laboratory

hisoka shook his head once akechi left

”he really had some big plans”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Akechi almost has his plan fully set out


	89. The next plan

_**Leblanc** _

the door opened and rolled in with his suitcase and some souvenirs he picked up before he left hawaii

futaba and sojiro were waiting for ren in order to greet him

”hey kid, welcome back to Tokyo” sojiro greeted him first

”hey ren” futaba greeted him right after

”aloha!” ren greeted back

futaba gasped ”he’s been influenced”

”well he has been gone for a few days so it would’ve happened regardless”

”but he’s like entranced or something”

”well I’m gonna head upstairs and drop my stuff off, I assume you can handle things without me for another afternoon?” ren wanted to mess with sojiro

”of course I can but I think you should take a nap or something you look like you’d need it”

sojiro pointed out how droopy ren’s eyes seemed to be

”jet lag of some sort?” futaba linked ren’s fatigued look towards

”well then I’ll be upstairs if you need me” ren was about to head upstairs 

“wait ren I need to speak with you about something!” futaba yelled so that ren could hear before he went upstairs

”then let’s talk upstairs it’s better this way..”

ren walked upstairs but then saw in horror as everything he had kept in his room such as his clothing, his materials, his tools and some things he had brought from home all sprawled out on the floor

there was an attempt to clean up as morgana was currently struggling to pick up all of the stuff that was on the floor

morgana then looked up and he noticed ren who dropped his bags on the floor out of shock is seeing all of his stuff and belongings violated and left to rot on the ground

”ren! you’re back” morgana was relieved to see ren finally come back

”what...happened?”

”futaba and me went through your stuff but she didn’t clean up and these paws can’t pick things up” morgana struggled the entire time because he couldn’t put any of ren’s stuff back where they belonged

”futaba” ren called futaba’s name, his intentions not fully clear yet

futaba walked up stairs and she saluted like a soldier in front of ren

”Private futaba at your service!”

ren pointed at the mess ”how come all of my stuff is on the floor?”

futaba looked at the mess and then back to ren “cause I forgot to clean up..?” futaba couldn’t think of an excuse so she tried to act as innocent as possible

after that ren quickly looked to futaba and then gave her a glare

”what..?” futaba still didn’t get the message

” **is she dense..?** ”

ren then proceeded to give futaba a noogie on her head, giving enough force for it to hurt but not too much that’d she cry but just enough so she could actually understand what she did was bad

”ow ow ow ow!” futaba rubbed her head in order to relive the pain

after that ren looked to the mess and huffed “jeez you could’ve at least asked to look at my stuff before you poked your nose around”

futaba snickered while rubbing her head as it hurt a little bit “what could you expect from someone’s who has hacked entire government bases before” not something to be proud of but futaba boasted regardless

ren then looked at her with a serious look that startled futaba 

”s-sorry” futaba apologized before ren could give her another noogie 

”now help me clean this up”

”okay” futaba finally realized how ren didn’t like seeing his stuff on the floor

morgana moved out the way in order for the two to start picking up ren’s stuff

as the two starting to pick things up futaba remembered back when she was scouring ren’s room for his personal stuff she found a bunch of photos from before ren’s arrest 

she felt it was an appropriate time to bring the photos up as ren never really mentioned them all too often

”hey ren while I was going through your stuff I found some photos, are they friends or secret agents of some sorts?”

ren laughed while he was putting some of his clothes back in the boxes “no they’re just some old friends of mine”

”are they cool? are they interesting? do they also have personas?” futaba kept shooting questions left and right

”in they’re own sense, yeah, no” ren answered all of her questions in simple or short answers

”lame, they don’t have personas so they’re not interesting at all” 

“I didn’t have many friends but they were cool on they’re own way although not as crazy as this group”

”then that means we’re better. top tiers for the win!” futaba pumped her first into the air

”right..”

”so why didn’t you tell them about the metaverse”

”I just didn’t think it was right to just force my friends into an entirely different world”

” **even though one of them would be perfectly fine with being out into a different world** “

“by the way I only saw one photo of this browned haired boy in this stupid plaid shirt”

”plaid shirt?” ren thought for a moment before he realized what photo she was talking about “oh that’s just a friend that I met only recently before I left Kyoto”

” **tsk tsk** ” arsene was disappointed

”that makes sense” futaba nodded along

”anyways before we finish this up you wanted to talk to me about something?” ren sat on his bed as he had finished putting most of his stuff away leaving only some materials behind

”oh! thanks for reminding me about that I was about to forget”

” **you mean you did forget** ”

”we’ll I finished analyzing the data makoto gave me and I found some stuff that’ll be important to out operation against the mental shutdown culprit”

”well go on I’m listening”

”anyways I found that makoto’s sister sae has some pretty extensive data on the matter....a thread that connected it all.....there someone who has been benefitted from it......hey are you even listening!?”

the entire time while futaba was speaking ren’s eyes kept opening and closing as ren was in a heated battle with drowsiness

futaba irritatingly groaned “we’ll speak tomorrow then”

”alright” ren fell backwards into his bed and nearly immediately he passed out

morgama jumped into his bed to check if he really was asleep

”he’s out cold”

”guess he was tired from the trip, do you wanna hear about what happened morgana?”

”let’s save it for the rest of the group to hear about them we can see what’ll happen”

”sounds like a plan”

futaba left ren’s attic leaving only morgana and ren

morgana stared over ren’s sleeping face

”hey”

ren didn’t budge

”guess he really is out cold”

* * *

_**Next morning** _

ren’s eyes slowly peered open

ren sat up still in his uniform as he never took it off before he slept

”you should change into another uniform” morgana was pacing around back and forth waiting for ren to wake up

”guess I should”

ren quickly changed into another uniform and he picked his bag up not realizing morgana was inside

”why is this so much heavier?” ren wasn’t used to this mug weight in his bag

”I’m in here you know!” morgana poked his head out of ren’s bag

”sorry I’m not used to having another persona in my bag”

”it’s only been 4 days, how did you forget?”

”4 days is a long time and a lot happened”

”well a lot happened here as well”

”and? I still remember how our routine mainly goes” 

“routine? did we have one of those?” ren didn’t know what morgana was talking about

”of course we do it’s breakfast, school, metaverse, exercise, sleep and repeat”

”I guess when you rinse it down to that I really do have a simple routine”

”see? and without my help you wouldn’t be able to do it” morgana pinned himself as an essential piece to ren

”I think I could handle all of it on my own just fine though” ren insisted

”nope! all me!” morgana denied it whole heartedly 

“well let’s just get this over with”

ren finally headed downstairs and had some breakfast while sojiro

* * *

on the way to school nothing was eventful

the train was just as compact as usual with ren being forced to scramble for a seat

no one was with him when he was walking so it was pretty mundane all things aside

“there’s a lot of people gathered around” morgana noted

” **seems a bit off putting** ”

”time to find out”

as ren entered in he saw a bunch of the teachers leading the students into the gym

standing in front of them was ryuji who was scratching his head 

“hey ryuji!” ren called ryuji’s name to get his attention

ryuji turned around to see ren but he still had the same confused look on his face

”yo..” ryuji didn’t yell or greet ren with a grin on his face

”what’s up?” 

”I feel like something ain’t right”

”could just be the melancholy feeling of not being in hawaii”

”I dunno man..but everyone is talking about they’re talking about that ‘you know what’ and I can’t figure out what that is”

”well let’s just go in anyways it could just be nothing”

the two went in along with all the other students that were also present

after some more looking around they saw mishima who was aimlessly walking around with his phone in his hand

he seemed just as equally confused at they were about the situation

”hey yuuki!” ryuji called his name out

mishima looked up and he noticed the two and quickly jogged over

”do you guys know what’s happening?”

”nah, everyone mumbling to themselves but an assembly right after our trip?” ryuji was creeped out by all these coincidences

”shh listen to what’s everyone else is saying” morgana tried to hear what the other site ftw were saying so they could get a clue on what was happening

”it’s gotta be about that incident” a male student said a little startled

”are we cursed? it’s only in this school” a female student said

”it has to be on how he fixed right? no one collapses like that unless they died” another female student added on

”this has to be some early April fools prank there’s no way it could’ve happen” a male student tried to deny what had happened

”fuck, we’re screwed if people are just dropping like flies” another male student began to have a little panic attack

” **none of this sounds good ren** ” arsene didn’t like how any of this was turning out

” _I see that but what happened_ ”

” **I’ve been searching but it seems to be a death of some kind** ”

” _that’s never good_ ”

after some more mumbling all the students were finally gathered inside and the vice principal came out onto the stage and he stood in front of the pedestal with a mic attached to it

he took a deep breath before he spoke

he seemed pretty spooked himself and he was already sweating bullets

”good morning students and thank you for gathering here today on this for this emergency assembly”

”it has to be about the incident right?” a student asked himself

”this school is cursed” a female student said

“if you haven’t heard the news then I must break it to you all that principal kobayakawa sadly and tragically passed away yesterday” the vice principal kept his composure throughout even though visibly he was nervously sweating

”holy shit it did happen” a student finally accepted what happened

”could it be the phantom thieves or was it just an accident?” a female student asked

”it’s too coincidental that it happened right after the entire school was questioned” another female student answered 

“suicide? or murder?” another student asked

“could be hoax to cover up the entire kamoshida situation” another student tied it back to kamoshida

”as you know” the vice principal began to speak once more “mr. kobayakawa was doing his best to restore peace in the school ever since the incident with mr. kamoshida. he spent many days and nights trying to make sure everyone of you had a peaceful school life”

”tch, like he ever gave a shit” a male student said under his breath

”he was the one who started all of this wasn’t he?” another male student argued

”I don’t mind if he was gone he was a scumbag anyways kissing you to kamoshida” a female student added on

”but what if the phantom thieves did it” another student chimed in

”they wouldn’t, they don’t kill people remember” another student tried to clarify

”but what if that was a cover up for all their crimes”

”then that would all tie together” another student agreed

more mumbling and rambling came from the crowd

”we weren’t the cause of any of this right?” ryuji started to worry about if they were the cause

”no! there’s no way we never killed anyone right ren?” mishima looked to ren “ren?”

ren was breathing heavier than normal and he looked like he was stuck very deep in his thoughts

” _that damned akechi, he’s planning something this is only step one_ ”

” **if there’s anything I can say about that backstabber, it’s that he can scheme** ”

” _I have to figure it out, I have to figure it out! who knows what might happen_ ” ren our all the work to himself again

” **you mean we** ”

” _I’m the only one capable enough to take him down_ ” ren didn’t want them to get hurt

” **maybe if you have the other a shot they’d understand and help you take akechi down** ” arsene tried to reason with ren

” _impossible they’d ask too many questions and they’d know about all that had happened_ ” ren was afraid

” **ren just give it a chance** ”

” _no!_ ” ren refused to do so out of fear

”hey ren?” morgana tapped his face

”huh?” ren snapped back into reality

”are you ok? you seem a bit paranoid” morgana saw how ren looked and he was concerned for what ren was thinking about

”it’s nothing it’s just what we have to do after this that has me worried”

”what do we do?” mishima asked

”the next best plan, we go to futaba for what she found into that flash drive”

* * *

school ended up being normal after that assembly besides all of the chatter about principal kobayakawa’s sudden death

there was some speculation about how conveniently timed it was as it happened right after the school was questioned about the kamoshida incident and all the other controversies surrounding it

the chatter never died down, it only built up and people kept trying to formulate answers for what really happened to mr. kobayakawa

after that the entire group went to leblanc in order to discuss what futaba had gotten out of the flash drive

* * *

_**Leblanc** _

everyone felt uneasy

the only ones that didn’t feel like that were futaba and yusuke but futaba was worried about other things above all and yusuke hadn’t been aware of what conspired

“what’s with you guys?” futaba asked unclear of what was up

”it’s a long story” makoto said without much leading into it

futaba shrugged her shoulders ”anyways you guys I figured out what was in the flash drive or what niijima-san had figured out”

no one seemed pretty interested in what futaba was going on about

the entire mood was down and the lingering feeling of whether or not they actually were the reason mr. kobayakawa was dead

”are you guys sure you’re ok?” futaba asked as she saw no one was interested in the data futaba had found

”are we doing the right thing?” ann asked “I know we talked about doing the right thing when we were going into futaba’s palace but I’m not so sure this time” ann didn’t know what to think

”what happened?” futaba asked as she didn’t know what the group was moping about

”our principal died and we’re unsure if we we’re the ones who killed him” makoto said

”no way, there is no possible way that we were the ones who did it” futaba already tried to refute their statements

”you don’t know that. the metaverse is a strange tool and who knows what the effects of using it could do, maybe there was some kind of after effect” makoto saw the principal’s death as some sort of after effect

”if there was an effect ren would’ve said it by now, right ren?” futaba looked to ren for his take

”no way there is an effect like that, someone is killing everyone one by one using the metaverse” ren sounded very sure about this. which wasn’t far off since he know who the culprit is

”are you sure?” shiho asked still not to sure if she could believe ren

”I’ve been in this for 3 straight years of hard work and absolute hell trying to figure out what the hell any of this means and I still barely know any of it but what I do know is that there’s one person who’s been killing everyone!” ren raises his voice and he was sweating a lot

”one person? that’s quite a bold statement” morgana caught that part from ren’s spiel

ren saw that he might of made a mistake in his wording ”well I don’t know if it’s one person specifically we’re only going off assumptions and clues we got from kaneshiro, who knows? it could be a whole group like ours but with the amount of people we have we should be good in case such a thing ever happened”

“just like ren said all we have is that the person has a black mask and that’s basically it” futaba trusted ren’s info

”also why do you feel like we were the cause of it?” yusuke asked curious to what brought on the conversation as he had been as out of the loop as futaba was since he didn’t go tot heir school

“have you not seen all the pressure we’ve gotten from everyone on the phan site? and all the ones at school saying that we might’ve killed the principal” mishima said nervously as he didn’t know what to believe

”yeah I don’t like the thought of us at least having some part in how our principal died” shiho didn’t want to consider that they may have had a hand in his death 

“a side effect? that may be a part of it but I’m not to sure of that honestly” morgana didn’t have an actual answer for that

”it’s not an effect I’m sure of it” ren was serious “he was targeted in this attack for some reason or another”

”how do we check though? it’s not like we can ask what happened to him” ryuji said

”I’ll ask my dad and I’ll get some info” ren reassured

” **really..** ” arsene sighed at ren’s bluff

”listen let’s move on from that, let’s all trust ren with what he’s been saying. after all he knows more than us and I’m sure we’ll find the culprit, right ren?” futaba looked back to ren 

”exactly” ren nodded along with futaba

”regardless of what people are saying we have bigger things that we have to deal with if someone would like to read out loud for me” futaba didn’t feel like reading out what was in the screen

yusuke leaned forward to read some of the notes that were on the laptop screen

“the death caused by this odd collapsing phenomenon range from all over the spectrum of wealth and social status from being just simple business men to politicians and even some random citizens get all of them have some sort of connection to one person who’s benefitted from it all...” yusuke paused for a moment as he had to process the next line

”the person who has mostly benefitted firm the resignation of the executives of the other competitors and the removal of certain figures from the landscape is the CEO of Big Bang burger Kunikazu Okumura....” yusuke turned around to look at haru

”Okumura? then that would mean...” ryuji also turned around to face haru

one by one everyone else turned their heads to haru with worried or shocked faces

haru who had stayed quiet during the entire conversation held her hands together and she immediately bowed not wanting to show her eyes that were letting her tears flow freely

”I’m sorry!” haru’s first instinct was to apologize “the truth is I’ve known all about m my father’s palace and about all the things he has done in order to be where he is right now but I never thought to tell any of you because I thought of it being a stupid and selfish request for me to make and especially after I’ve seen all of you suffer with your own problems! I didn’t want to be nuisance and force you all deal with me!” haru spoke so fast to where it was hard to take in everything she said

everyone had to take a step back from all of what haru had said but they understood what she wanted to convey

haru never wanted to be a nuisance so that’s why she never spoke up in conversations

the only people who already knew about haru’s ordeal was ren, morgana and makoto but it seemed now was the tile for haru to spew all of what had been built up for the last few weeks or months on end

”pick your head up haru no one is mad at you” ren kindly said to haru

”huh?” haru looked up and was immediately confused

she expected the group to be mad at her for keeping a secret as heavy as that for so long without ever wishing for help from the others or speaking up to the group

“I said no one is mad at you” ren repeated himself

”right, we’re you’re friends” makoto also began cheering up haru

”exactly, I don’t see the point I’m getting mad at you for this I mean we all have our problems so it’s fine that you kept it to yourself” shiho followed suit

”there really is no need to cry” yusuke assured

”what Inari said, there’s no point in crying if we’re all in this together” futaba nodded

”we’ll do our best to make sure your problem is solved” ann smiled brightly

”I’ll do my best!” mishima amped himself up

”we’re not the phantom thieves for a reason” morgana confidently wagged his tail around

haru wiped her eyes “you guys...thank you..” it meant a lot to haru that everyone would be participating in helping her out with this

ren held out his hand but specifically his pinky finger “how about we make a promise that we’ll uncorrupt your father’s heart and bring him back to normal”

haru stared at ren’s finger before wrapping her own pinky finger with his

the two shook on it

”thank you everyone”

the two let go and ren looked to futaba

”you don’t mind if we put our investigation on the black mask on hold right?”

futaba nodded “it’s fine, this seems more important”

”so then do we know what are your father’s specifics?”

”yes I do, besides his name it’s the ‘corporate hq’ and ‘outer space’ “

”that’s perfect, let’s all go tomorrow if that’s fine with you all?”

the group nodded in agreement

”then it’s settled, tomorrow after school we go to space”

” **space huh, this’ll be interesting** ”

* * *

_**Later that evening** _

akechi was standing outside of a building

he had gotten out of the studio a while back and for now he was resting while he was making a very important call

the person answered

”hello? sir?”

[what is it akechi-san I’m busy?]

”well I just wanted to know I have all the pieces except for one in place”

[couldn't you kill him now, I don’t see the point in waiting for his demise]

”sorry it’s a personal thing”

[well makes sure you don’t make a mistake in eradicating him, we don’t want any rats roaming free around here]

”don’t worry sir it’ll be done and over with soon, I just have to check in with someone

[well good luck with that, I’ll make sure to compensate you very nicely for this]

”thank you Shido-san. I won’t let you down”

akechi hung up and he turned around to face the building he had his back turned to

”and so it begins”

akechi pulled out his phone and he disappeared into the metaverse, presumably into the building itself

that building was the hq of a huge corporate giant

and that corporate’s name was Big Bang burger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we start on the Okumura arc and all that’s been laid down
> 
> >:)


	90. The spaceport

_**Leblanc** _

it was afterschool and ren was back at leblanc just getting stuff ready

”lock picks, medicine, refreshments” ren stuffed his bag full of supplies

morgana watched as ren put the supplies in his bag one by one

”just remember that I also have to fit in there as well”

”my bad I forgot to compensate for you”

ren took some items out in order to make room for morgana

after he did morgana jumped into his bag and ren put his back over his shoulders

morgana stuck his head out and he laid his paws on his shoulder

”ready?” ren asked

”as ready as I’ll ever be”

ren headed downstairs and he went outside of leblanc

ren began to walk towards the station but not before..

”wait for me!!” futaba called out

ren turned around and saw futaba rum towards him

”I thought you were already there”

”I can’t by myself, especially with all the people in the trains bumping into me” futaba still wasn’t comfortable going to places on her own

”then let’s go together before everyone thinks we’re late”

”righto!”

* * *

_**In front of the corporate hq**_

ryuji was tapping his foot while he waited for the rest of the group to come by 

so far only ryuji had come to the group’s meeting spot

it was odd for him to even be early after all the times he either came when most of the group had already arrived or when he was severely late due to something stupid like ‘I overslept’

maybe it was ryuji turning over a new leaf or so he thought

”I’m soooo bored” and ryuji was already bored

ryuji looked around but he couldn’t see any cafe or food stand where he could get something to eat before the rest arrived

it was already too late to go to the train because it was almost time for the group to officially meet

ryuji groaned and he took a walk around the street

”those guys take too long might as well walk around”

ryuji took a little stroll before seeing some one familiar

”is that akechi-san?”

heading towards ryuji’s direction was akechi who was looking around like he was weary of something or someone in particular

”what’re you doing over here?”

akechi reacted in complete shock as he didn’t see ryuji

he quickly regained his composure and he spoke to ryuji

”just passing through! I didn’t expect for you to be here”

”I was supposed to meet someone and...” ryuji realized he had said too much “yeah! I was just meeting a friend of mine and they took too long”

”well that seems rather unfortunate”

”what about you? you seem like you’re waiting for something”

akechi paused and thought to himself before speaking

”i’m just being careful on my part, being famous is one thing but I believe I may have a huge target on my back for either the phantom thieves or the mental shutdown culprit to attack me”

”I guess that’s true....wait you said the phantom theives and the mental shutdown case?”

”yes..yes I did, is that a problem?”

”so you think they’re two separate people?” ryuji really only heard that part of whatever akechi was saying

”yes..?” akechi was confused

”so what’s your opinion on the phantom thieves?” ryuji was idiotically leading the conversation about the thieves which wasn’t good as he didn’t take on he fact that akechi might connect the dots

not like it mattered anyway

”I still perceive them as a general nuisance as they are just vigilantes who aren’t aligning themselves with the law but I can’t lie that they have done some things that have helped us..even if I don’t want to admit that”

”that’s cool..I’ll definitely tell the gang about that..” ryuji mumbled under his breath

”hmm?”

”nothing”

”anyways I’ll be going now I probably have something to do at the station or something”

”nice..you wanna grab some ramen?” ryuji was finding an excuse to wat

”another time, I’m not hungry right now”

akechi walked ahead of ryuji waving whilst walking away from him

”he seems a lot like ren”

* * *

after some more waiting the entire group arrived with haru being the last one to arrive for some odd reason

”anyways we’re all here now?” ren said as he held his phone in his hand

”yep” ryuji said loudly “that’s everyone and now let’s go into space!” ryuji was pretty stoked about going into ‘space’ even though it was technically someone’s mind

”by the way haru are you better by any chance? I still feel bad we’re throwing all of this at you at once”

”don’t be, I still feel as if I’m using your kindness a bit too much though” haru still felt guilty about what happened yesterday

”like we’ve said, this is just what friends do..even though what we’re doing is on a much grander scale” shiho reassured

”anyways forget about that lets just go in already!” morgana was getting antsy to go inside

“okie dokie” futaba saluted “I have the keywords already loaded! all I need is the word and we’ll be off”

ren smirked “let’s go kick some ass”

” **well said** ”

the group nodded

”and here we go” futaba presses the button and the world started to become distorted and they began to fade away from the real world

* * *

_**Okumura Spaceport** _

the group reappeared and they spawned I’m some sort of hub area that was surrounded by a glass and steel dome

the outside of the dome was pure space with nothing but the stars and the earth that was in clear view

the entire area screamed high level tech and it had a huge futuristic aesthetic all over it

”so this is the place?” ann walked around in awe of the interior

”this really is quite a view” makoto look outside of the dome to see earth which seemed to be hundreds of miles away

“I didn’t expect everything to be so cool and sophisticated” futaba complimented the port

” **jeez this palace really went all out** ”

”if I only I had my sketchbook, this looks like a perfect thing to jot down and sketch” yusuke probably appreciated the scenery way more than the others

”wait but we’re in our thief attire?” mishima didn’t exactly know why they were already considered enemies

”it seems mr. Okumura is on high alert, be sure to be careful every step of the way as we don’t know what he might throw at us” ren advises to the entire group

”he does regularly watch the news talking about the phantom thieves” haru shared

”so where should we go joker?” morgana asked not moving an inch in fear of traps

”we head straight to where the treasure is that’s what”

”should we slit up? I think for a group this big and with a huge spaceport like this splitting into two different groups may be advantageous for our investigation” morgana said as he thought everyone was experienced enough to head into their own separate group without ren

”how so?”

”divide and conquer, the more we spread out the more we’re able to search and the closer we’ll be to the treasure”

”you’re right, this place seems way bigger than anything else we’ve been through”

”as long as we find a way into whatever next area there is it’s best we split up to see if there is a way that’s closest to the treasure

”but how would we know where the treasure is?” ren questioned

”it’s all the way across the place, I can sense it”

”then that might work for us, splitting ourselves into two and then going through each corner to see where it could be” ren considered the option

” **it’ll work but I’m not as confident as the cat is** ”

” _I don’t see what would happen_ ”

”

”alright I guess that’ll do”

”of course it’ll do I’m the one who said it” morgana arrogantly proclaimed

”whatever cat” ryuji didn’t like morgana’s braggadocious attitude

morgana looked up to ryuji with anger but he didn’t say anything as to not distract the group from unnecessary arguments

ren looked to the rest of the group “alright splitting into two teams sounds good, so how should we divide this”

”let’s have team leaders or like we have 3 teams!” ryuji immediately put his two cents in

“I think two teams in perfectly reasonable” makoto said not fully agreeing with ryuji’s advice

”I think two teams is fine, and team leaders also sounds decent” yusuke nodded with makoto

”so who’s the team leaders? we know joker is one of them..I mean why wouldn’t he”

”true, so who’s gonna be the other one?” ann looked to see who would step up

”I think queen can do it” haru brought makoto’s name into the discussion

”convenient seeing she’s the student council president” ann thought it was right to have her as team leader 2

”I don’t see any objections” makoto didn’t mind being the other team leader

morgana’s ears went down as he wanted to be a team leader

”it’ll be fine morgana, your time will come someday” ren attempted to cheer up morgana

”ok now that that’s settled who’s gonna be on which team”

”seeing as I’m the most experienced I’ll take three other people with me” ren wanted makoto to take the most people with her so that they wouldn’t have too much of an issue with the mission

”I’m one of them!” ann cheerfully said

”ok lovebirds just go together” shiho sighed

”actually panther I wanted to really go through my choices to see how we should take this”

ann frowned

ren surveyed the group for a moment choosing who he wants to add on

”hmm...”

arsene decides to step in and help ren make a choice

” **you can’t take futaba, she’ll be a necessity for them if you can’t be there to back them up** ”

” _what about yusuke?_ ”

” **yusuke is pretty capable so pairing him with makoto is a good decision** ”

” _ryuji?_ ”

” **we want to go in as stealthily as we can and no offense to ryuji but I feel like he might jeopardize that part of it** ”

” _I won’t peg you for that. what about shiho?_ ”

” **range might be good for us, easy takedown without alerting anyone else especially with her rifle** ”

” _alright that’s one but what about haru?_ ”

” **she’d go better on the other team, he manpower alone is great and it’d help them if they were to get in a sticky situation** ”

” _morgana?_ ”

” **no** ” arsene gave a very simple answer

” _y...you’re not gonna add on to that?_ ” ren didn’t understand why arsene dint continue his sentence

” **not needed he might get in our way** ”

” _ok...mishima?_ ”

” **he needs pointers the way he swings that sword if off so that needs fixing** ”

” _so we have room for ann?_ ” ren had ann in higher regards then the others

arsene sighed “ **yes...** ”

”alright I made my decision” ren announced

”so who is it?” ryuji asked anxious to see if he was with ren

”panther, raven and admin. you’re with me”

”thank you for c-choosing me!” mishima shuttered as he didn’t think he would be picked

” **he’s way too nervous** ”

”guess I have to be careful” shiho said

”don’t shoot me please” ren said to shiho hoping she wouldn’t shoot him in the back again

”no promises” shiho didn’t assure ren anything

”any who, queen you have to take mona, skull, noir, fox and oracle with you” ren told makoto

”that’s fine, six of us with 3 of us having healing capabilities and with enough type coverage to clear out sounds very good in my opinion” makoto wasn’t opposed with her team

”alright, us 4 will take the first steps through, you guys will follow behind and scout out each area while we push forward and oracle can relay messages to us and we’ll do the same”

futaba shook her head “got it”

”wait how will we try to message oracle?” mishima asked as he didn’t know how that part of the plan would work

“normally being together in a group futaba can tell us about the current situation from above so I thought that we could just use our phones to speak long distance with one another but just in case we can’t I brought these” ren with into his bag and he pulled out two walkie talkies

”radio communication” yusuke pointed them out

”smart, now we shouldn’t have issues with communication with eachother” makoto like the idea

”is that why your bag was so uncomfortable to lay in” morgana just realized why his body felt so cramped in his bag

”my bad I didn’t have anywhere else to put it” ren looked up to meet the eyes of the entire group “any objections to the plan?”

no one spoke up

”alright then we will meet at a nearby safe room and if there’s any shadows that you can’t take out avoid them at all costs and tell us about it, remember our mission is to secure a route to the treasure room and not to take out as many shadows as we can”

”Roger that” makoto nodded

”see you then” yusuke got behind makoto

”alrighty let’s go” ren walked away with the three others who he picked going along with him

once they left makoto’s group started to make their own plans

”now that they left it’s time we start to move out and make our own progression through the spaceport” makoto began the quick little briefing 

”it’s better if we avoid contact, we can’t rely on joker this time around” morgana said

”that means actually being stealthy and not jumping the gun, skull”

“why you singling me out!?” ryuji said angered that he was the only one of the the 6 that was called out

”because the last time we went without joker we didn’t even make any significant progress and if this palace is even harder than kaneshiro’s then we have to be prepared at all costs” morgana said bluntly

”don’t think you’re not apart for that crowd too cat! you messed up and got tossed around like the rest of us!” ryuji wanted to take morgana down with him as long as it meant morgana being put in his place

”not as much as you!” morgana already forgot about his earlier thought of not starting unnecessary fights 

”now now, we must not fight amongst ourselves because of trivial things” haru stepped in to break the two up

“we can’t waste time now we have to go and investigate where the treasure room is” makoto began to walk ahead “now come on we don’t have time to mess around”

the group followed with haru making sure ryuji and morgana didn’t start any fights

* * *

the group passed through the building

futaba looked through the glass to see the dark empty space outside

she pressed her hands against the glass

”this is really cool”

yusuke notices and stopped to also look through

”it truly does look magnificent” yusuke appreciated the view

“you think if we hit it hard enough it’ll crack?” futaba said with an evil grin on her face

”I don’t think we should try that”

”ok but think of it hypothetically, what if Okumura made his cognition so that the glass couldn’t break”

”I think that’s common sense that you wouldn’t want glass of any kind to break”

”ok ok but what if-”

”fox! oracle! stop messing around and get over here!” makoto yelled at the two

”oh right..coming!” futaba yelled back

both futaba and yusuke jogged back to where the rest of the group was

they were hunched behind a corner as makoto was trying to see if there were any shadows lurking about

makoto only saw one lonely shadow by itself

”there’s only one of them?” makoto through there would be a bit more shadows nearby

”maybe joker and the others took them out” haru assumed

”well let’s just get rid of this one and be on with it”

”alright I’ll go smash it” ryuji slapped his bat against his hand as he walked towards the shadow menacingly

”I guess this approach is fine if there’s only one of them to deal with” makoto let it slide

*BOOM*

ryuji unleashed a huge heavy electrical attack onto the shadow causing an uproar of dust around the two

”let’s back him up before he hurts himself” morgana ran towards the smoke

“let's kick some shadow butt” futaba got her persona out

”this is overkill” makoto sae futaba’s ufo giver towards the battle 

“then we must finish it quickly” yusuke unsheathed his katana and ran towards the dust

”be right back!” haru followed along jumped up into to air with her axe above her head right before she was engulfed into the dust

makoto sighed and stood back waiting for them to finish

* * *

after they finished they regroup

ryuji wiped his head “WOO, that was intense”

”you used too much of your energy skull” makoto critiqued

”we still got him didn’t we?”

makoto facepalmed

[coming in! how’s it on your side]

everyone looked to where that sound came from

[joker here how’s it in your side?]

they saw voice had come from the walkie talkie that futaba had hitched to her belt  
she unhitched it and held the walkie talkie near her mouth

”oracle here, what’s up?”

[there were a few doors that need some kind of facial id, I assume that you easily went though those with noir’s assurance no?]

the group thought about it as there were some doors that only opened when haru went up to them

”I believe so, did you get past them?”

[we went through the vents and any duct that we could fit through but this place seems bigger than we could’ve imagined]

”have you found anything major?”

[not really but we found a few maps of this area and we deduced that the treasure room isn’t in this part of the spaceport]

”so then we need to find the next section in order to proceed” yusuke butted in order to ask a question

[basically yeah] Ann’s voice came through instead of ren’s

”alright we’ll try to find a way to where we need to be”

[just so you know I felt a nearby aura of something or someone] ren was back on the walkie talkie

”what do you mean?” haru asked 

[it might be Okumura’s shadow]

”alright we’ll make sure to keep a more about it”

[what're you gonna do about it?]

”let’s try to approach and attempt to speak to him” makoto proposed 

[are you sure you wanna do that?]

”we’ll be fine, don’t worry about us” ryuji assured

[then we’ll be over here for now, call us in case you need us]

”got it, over and out”

futaba put the walkie talkie back on her belt

”so we’re gonna speak to him?” yusuke asked

”yes...I wish to know what the real version of my father thinks..about my marriage and all” haru looked gloomy as she thought about what her father had been doing this entire time

”then let’s head forwards and see what with him” morgana said with a smile trying to cheer up haru

”yes..let’s do that”

the group continued forward until morgana could also feel the aura ren was speaking about

”he’s near” morgana said

the group turned a corner and they saw Okumura’s shadow standing there with his back turned towards the group and his arms also being behind his back

it seemed he was taking a stroll through his own ship

okumura’s shadow wore a dark glossy suit with a bunch of flashy buttons on it and a huge glass dome protecting his blue skin from the outside

”father!” haru called as she ran towards him

Okumura’s shadow turned around but he didn’t seemed surprised as if he was expecting this to happen

”haru...” Okumura looked past her to see the other 5 behind her “and they are..?”

”my friends, we’re here to help and fix you” haru said desperately

”haru..playtime is over now go back and say goodbye to you’re friends and be a normal-“

”that’s not the point!” haru cut off her father 

“don’t you dare raise you’re voice to me young lady!” okumura said with a more serious tone than before as he felt like he was being disrespected by haru

”I’m sorry but I need to get it across that I’m a person too and that you can’t force me into a marriage that I don’t want to be in”

”come on haru think of it both ways, not just from your view. you see haru I just want the best for you and the best for us, that’s why I’ve set this up to benefit us both through and through”

”but why should I be in this marriage

”it’s always the job of a daughter to marry someone and become your own although I won’t have you go too far from me I still want you to be your own and the best start to that is to get married and evolve in your own terms”

”that’s...”

”bullshit!” ryuji yelled from the back

”skull what are you doing!?” morgana angrily whispered 

“you just want to use her for your own gain you selfish prick! no normal father would sell their daughter off to a family like some kind of item or gift”

”like a peasant like you would now of what it feels like to be in this position” okumura started to let some of his true colors show through

”doesn’t matter! it’s called being an effing decent human being” ryuji responded more angrier than before

”haru don’t listen to these heinous miscrrants, come” okumura held his hand out “come back to me and we’ll have some time to sort you out”

haru stood there, her hand holding the wrist of the other very tightly

”no...” haru said lightly 

”I’m sorry what was that..?” okumura took a step forward as he didn’t hear what haru had said

”I said no...” haru sounded more serious this time around

”what was that..?”

”no! no to everything! no to the marriage! no to me being some item you can use! and no to this side do you that I keep seeing! what happened to the father I once knew and why is he such a selfish, uncaring, greedy deviant who keeps trying to get more richer and powerful...as long as he still exists within you I will never say yes to you again” haru spewed all of that out without missing a single note

okumyra sighed and he put his hand back down to his side

”you really are an okumura. ‘over come failure at all costs. even if it means betraying others’ the apple really doesn’t fall too far from the tree doesn’t it. although it does make me said that you breathed me you are learning the real okumura name”

haru held her worst even tighter than before

”now why don’t you run back along and we’ll talk later”

”no...” haru pulled out her axe which stunned everyone “you’ll show me where the treasure is right now got it”

okumura saw the axe punted straight at him and he started to laugh loudly

”oh haru... you really do know how to make a good joke but if it’s a fight you want them it’ll be a fight you get...sugimura-kun!”

that name made haru freeze in place as she witnessed a shadow appear in the form of sugimura right next to okumura

”my what’s this? a bunch of vulgar children attempting to poison my fiancé?” sugimura said in a disgusted tone

”father...how could you..”

”sorry o daughter of mine, I need to make sure my plan goes all according to my steps and i can’t have you halt my plan I’m any way shape or form” okumura turned around

”you can’t leave me with someone as tainted as her, the phantom thieves have already reached to her and I can’t show her to my father in this state”

”then take her as your lover or mistress”

”hmm” sugimura thought about it “that doesn’t sound half bad, I’ll take you up on that offer”

”my condolences on my stubborn daughter but she’ll have to do” okumura walked away from the scene “I assume I can leave you here with them”

”of course, they won’t be an issue”

”then I’ll take my leave, have fun” okumura left the area 

”I’ll make sure to have plenty” sugimura was now all alone

his body then immediately morphed into a giant robot wearing the same suit and having the same haircut as before

”now then I think I’ll indulge in my plaything right about now”

haru didn’t move as she was paralyzed with fear just thinking about sugimura

sugimura lifted his giant metal robot fist and it was about to collide with haru 

a giant beam of nuclear and electrical spells blocked the attack

the sugimura bot looked to who it was and saw makoto and ryuji wielding their personas

”I don’t think we’ll let you have your way with her” makoto clicked her fists together intimidatingly

“the only thing that’s happening is us kicking your tin can ass out of here!” ryuji punted his bat at the robot

”fine then brats come at me if you dare!” sugimura said as he switched his target to makoto and ryuji

he charged another attack and struck down where makoto and ryuji were

they dodged and began to maneuver around sugimura

whilst that was happening yusuke and morgana were shooting at it from afar

”damn brats, this doesn’t involve you!” sugimura shot a psy attack towards the two

yusuke and morgana couldn’t dive in time and they were blasted by the attack

”inari! mona! you alright?” 

”yeah...” mona put away his slingshot “he hits pretty hard but as long as we outmaneuver him we can do it”

”then I’ll just have to hit him harder!” ryuji ran up and readied his bat before jumping into the air “take this!” ryuji aimed for his head

the robot saw ryuji coming in and he slapped him away with a lot force behind it sending him flying to a nearby wall

as ryuji’s body slammed into the wall making a huge crater in the process and knocking the wind out of ryuji

ryuji fell onto the floor heavily weakened

”skull!” futaba cried out

ryuji started to get back up “damn he hits hard”

”skull are you ok?” makoto back away from the robot over to ryuji

”yeah..” ryuji wiped the saliva from his mouth “I can keep going”

ryuji stood up but he still struggled to do so

”what’s wrong? can’t handle the pain brat?” sugimura said snobbily

haru watched as sugimura kept walking towards ryuji and makoto not moving a single muscles in her legs or arms

she stayed silent as she didn’t know what to do or say

she couldn’t muster up the courage to take on sugimura

“I.....I...” haru couldn’t even speak 

futaba’s ufo flew above both ryuji and makoto

”you guys here is some support!”   
futaba’s ufo healed the two

”thanks oracle” makoto appreciated the healing

”you guys ok?” 

ryuji stood up but the lingering effects of being slammed into a wall still existed as evidenced by ryuji’s limp and how he could still feel the pain all across his back

”yep...all good” ryuji struggled to lift his bat above his shoulder

”guys let’s all circle him! he can’t attack us all at once!” morgana said as he began to circle around the robot

”alright then let’s go!”

”come on noir move!” oracle screamed

haru didn’t answer and she was still stuck in place

”take this!” the robot slammed right where makoto was but makoto dodge and began to run up his arm

makoto made it to his shoulder and then jumped to get more height and more power behind her kick

the robot looked up at her and then shot another beam at makoto point blank who unfortunately couldn’t dodge this time around

makoto used her arms to cover her head as the spell collided with her

she flew several feet away from the robot

she stood back up but she felt a sharp pain in her left arm

the spell did more damage than she anticipated 

“weak...so so weak it makes me wanna pity you” the robot shook his head

while he was making fun of makoto’s sad attempt of an attack yusuke jumped up and slashed the robot’s back

”why you-“ the robot plunged his fist into he ground while yusuke skillfully dodge

the ribot kept hit the ground over and over again while yusuke kept slashing over and over again

he launched another psy attack and yusuke combated by shooting an ice attack to challenge it

however he couldn’t keep up and he couldn’t keep blasting his ice spell which allowed the psy spell to go through and collide with him

”damn..” yusuke fell back and regroup with makoto

meanwhile ryuji and morgana nodded at eachother as they planned an attack with eachother

they ran at opposite sides of the robot to that when he attack he could only get one and not the other

a stupid plan yes but as long as one hit landed it should be fine

they jumped and they both went for the face 

each assumed that the other would go for the legs or the back but they both ended up colliding into eachother and not the robot

they both fell to the ground on top of eachother

”dammit mona the hell are you doing?” ryuji criticized morgana

”me? you were the one to get in MY way” morgana replied very angrily

”trivial bickering” the robot said as he punched the both of them to where the rest of the group was

”you guys!” futaba’s ufo floated back to where they were

now all that was left was haru

haru watched as the sugimura robot walk up to her and grabbed her no the collar of her shirt

”glad you gave up, it was time you finally learned how to submit”

then it clicked in her

she snapped

the fear of his voice feeling as poisonous as a snake around her constricting her breathing

the way his body moved around like he wasn’t afraid of the consequences as he could pay or influence his way out of it

the way he used his father as an insurance policy to all of this

all of those thoughts surged through her and it made her lift up her axe which was still in her hand

she then slammed in into the robot’s arm as hard she could against the frigid metal

the axe went straight through the plating and down to the circuits 

“argh! damn girl” the robot cried out as he lifted haru into the air

“noir!” morgana screamed

the robot tossed haru across the air and then shot at her with a psy attack once she landed in front of the group

the robot began to come closer

”oh shit we’re pinned!” ryuji stated

morgana walked over to try to drag haru’s body over to them but he couldn’t 

“useless cat we don’t have time!” ryuji walked over and dragged her body behind the group

”thank you skull I’ll try to heal her” futaba began to heal haru

haru kept groaning for the entire duration

”oracle!” makoto yelled

”what’s up?”

”we need back up! call joker!”

”got it”

* * *

_**meanwhile** _

“I think I did pretty well, my aim is getting better” shiho stated proudly

”yeah you didn’t shoot me once” ren said reliving all the times he was shot by shiho

”I mean we made good progress, I wonder what the others are up to” mishima said curious

the buzz came from ren’s pocket

he pulled out the walkie talkie and pulled it to his mouth

”hello?”

everyone else huddled together to hear

[joker! we need backup right now! we’re all injured and noir might be knocked out] futaba screamed over the walkie talkie

”wait what happened”

[some cognition appeared and we underestimated it and now we’re pinned and stuck here!]

”shit..on my way!” ren said as he stuffed the walkie talkie in his pocket 

“what happened” ann asked

”they’re all in trouble and we have no time to waste”

ren began to sprint back the way they came

the other realized how serious this was and the ran behind ren

” _oh shit this is my fault!_ ”

ren blamed himself for letting this happen the entire sprint back


	91. Infighting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think my creative surge is returning to me once more and I think I can write better now
> 
> I thought the burn out of writing caught up already but I hope I’m improving as well as I can!

ren kept sprinting back through where they had come from

”joker! wait up!” shiho yelled

the three could barely keep up with ren’s agility and they were starting to lose him

”joker! at least tell us where to go!” mishima’s legs were about to give up and he was starting to run out of breath

”just head back where we came from you should be able to see where I went!”

ren sped up leaving them behind

” **ren what’s wrong?** ” arsene didn’t have a full grasp on the situation

” _I should’ve been more careful, I didn’t think any of this would happen!_ ” ren told himself

” **what are you talking about** **?** ”

ren made it back to the opened vent they had came from

without even stopping ren dove head first straight into the vent

the other three caught up and stopped in front of the vent

”holy crap he’s fast” shiho was catching her breath at the vent

”where....did he...go” mishima was completely out of breath

”we need..to catch up with him” ann proposed

”he might be really serious about this if he’s running this fast” shiho looked through the vent and she didn’t even see a trace of ren

”let’s go after him” ann started to crawl through the vent

”you think we can go after him?” mishima asked

shiho shrugged her shoulders

”let’s hope it’s nothing serious” mishima said as he chased after ren and ann

* * *

ryuji could barely hold his bat anymore

they have been pinned the entire time trying to protect haru who hadn’t gotten up since she was attacked

morgana was trying to heal her as much as he could before anyone else would be put in the same position

it was up to makoto, yusuke and ryuji to protect them

but none of their moves had been working 

so all the three had been doing is blocking attacks and counterattacking with their personas

“skull...it’s time for you to rest, me and fox will take it from here” makoto ordered ryuji to lie down and rest as ryuji had been the one to be given the most injuries out of the three

”hell no...” ryuji visibly injured raised his bat even though his arm could barely raise it “joker wouldn't give up here and I won’t either”

ryuji was badly injured, his back was most likely bruised and his arms barely had the strength to be lifted, let alone hold a baseball bat

makoto only had injuries on her arm and abdomen from being pelted by psy attacks

”I commend that bravery friend” yusuke was the least injured out of the three but he had no sp to use and he could only rely on his sword to attack due to his exhaustion

”you brats are so persistent” the robot was really tired of having to deal with the three’s unwavering will to fight

”now then it’s time for a counter attack” yusuke readied his katana

”right..” ryuji said weakly

“I’ll go left, fox you go right, skull stay here and use your persona!” makoto ordered as she began to run the right of the robot

”roger!” yusuke followed orders and he started to run to the right of the robot

”fine by me but don’t get mad when I accidentally shock the either of you two” ryuji said confidently as he charged a heavy electrical attack

”you must be stupid if you think any of that will work on me” the robot gazed at the three trying to see who would make the first move

”I could say the same to you if you keep underestimatin’ us!” ryuji’s attack was fully charged and ready to go

makoto kept running until she saw the perfect opportunity

”then I guess I’ll go for you then” the robot lifted his fist up in order to strike ryuji down

“skull! now!” she saw a golden opportunity for all three to strike

”take this!” ryuji shot his spell at him which shocked the entire robot from head to toes and it made his stumble backwards

”fox!” makoto jumped in the air to strike the robot’s exposed back

”on it!” yusuke did the same 

both struck the robot’s back leaving sent marks and forcing the robot to collapse in the floor

”we did it!” futaba said optimistically

”don’t think you won yet..” the robot got back up

”damnit!” ryuji said frustratingly “then I guess we have to do it again” ryuji charged another heavy electric attack

”not this time!” the robot revved up his fist for an overhead strike and he aimed it directly for ryuji’s head

” _shit.._ ” ryuji thought to himself as he braced for impact

he tried to move but his abdomen screamed from being hit in the gut so many times and it wouldn’t budge an inch no matter how hard he tried to move

all he could do was close his eyes and hope he’d live however the attack that was flying towards his head was really going to kill him leaving ryuji only time to pray and hope

”skull!” makoto shoved ryuji out of the way just before the punch connected

makoto hoped that she’d escape as well in order to stall the fight a little longer in order for backup or until something happened that would save them

as makoto shoved ryuji out of the way she looked up and saw as the fist was mere inches from colliding with her

”oh no..” makoto saw the fist coming down onto her spine taking away her breath and making her give an awful scream as it collided with her

a loud crack sound was heard as his fist crashed down onto makoto’s back pushing her through the floor and making a huge crater that surrounded makoto

”queen!” futaba cried out

”crap! oracle watch noir for me!” morgana ordered as he ran to go heal makoto 

“on it” futaba hovered over haru’s body

she seemed to be breathing steadily burning that she was close to awakening and rejoining the group

ryuji was on the floor watching the entire ordeal unfold

he got back up on his feet with more resolve and anger pulsating through him then before

he neglected his injuries instead just beating with the pain for now as he held his bat as tight as he could 

”bastard!” ryuji growled

”don’t consider this a victory for you yet!” yusuke ran towards the robot

he aimed his sword up as he was about to slash the robot from the down up slicing him in two

he then saw as the robot shot another psy attack right in front of him hitting him directly

yusuke got forced back to where the others were but not unscathed as he was holding his abdomen very tightly

yusuke wanted to go run to attack again but the pain was too great for him to move like that 

”hey skull...” yusuke said

”yeah...”

”I’ll make this the last push and the final attack” yusuke said without any doubt or uncertainty in his voice as he readied a physical attack with his persona “I may not have anything for an elemental attack but I do for a physical attack”

ryuji sighed “I don’t agree to giving up here but alright” ryuji smirked “as long as we take him down I ain’t regretting anything!” ryuji prepared a physical attack with his persona instead of an electrical attack “I’ll make this one count!”

”then we shall make sure to take him with us?” yusuke asked

”that’s exactly what I’m planning to do!” ryuji agreed as he charged his attack

* * *

meanwhile ren was crawling through the ventilation as fast as he could

”arsene where are they?”

” **they’re too far you have to keep going in order to get to them** ”

”shit! how far am I?”

” **too far to reach them in time, they’re barely holding off** ”

”ok but where am I?”

” **directly above them** ”

”then I’m crashing right above them”

” **you’re gonna what!?** ” arsene said as he looked at ren like he was insane

”I’m busting through the ceiling!” ren reading a curse attack

arsene chuckled ” **you really have the wildest of plans** ”

”eigaon!” ren shot a heavy curse attack in the vent causing a small dent

”again!”

ren shot another one that make the dent bigger 

“more!”

he launched another one that made the dent bigger

”not enough!” ren summoned another persona to make increase the damage

he then launched another eigaon that made a hole through the floor

”I’m gonna make this one count!” ren charged his attack

as it was charging ren saw the perfect opportunity to launch it

”fire!”

ren launched his attack and he blew through the ceiling

* * *

”on three fox!” ryuji said as he finished charging his attack

”ready when you are” yusuke was also finished

both yusuke and ryuji were charging physical spells with their personas

”1.....2......”

”wait what’s that life force up above us?” futaba read someone’s heartbeat above them

“thr-“

*BOOM*

a loud explosion was seen behind the group forcing large amounts of dust and debris to coming flying out from above 

it came from the ceiling and it caught the attention of everyone present

”what the!?” the robot said not understanding what was happening

“who’s that?” morgana said while healing a badly injured makoto

”he...made....it” makoto replied to morgana’s question as she fully lost consciousness from the heavy blow she was dealt

”wait a second I know who this is..” futaba said

a dark silhouette fell through the dust and debris and onto the ground below

the silhouette began walking and then another figure spawned from him but this time it was a larger figure with wings

the silhouette came out of the dust revealing it was ren who had popped down through the ceiling

ren slowly walked towards the robot and his friends while holding his dagger and pistol

standing behind him was his persona who looked menacing as he towered over ren

”he’s here!!” futaba gleefully announced 

”joker...” morgana was busy healing makoto when he noticed ren coming it of the dust

”what is it now?” the robot said frustrated with the sudden entrance “who are you?”

”fox! skull! I’ll take it from here” ren declared as he took out his dagger 

”g-go ahead...” the aura around ryuji faded away along with his persona

yusuke did the same and they finally had a time to rest

ryuji sat all the way down while yusuke simply kneeled

”backup did come after all...” ryuji could barely sit straight as his injuries persisted throughout 

”in the nick of time as well” yusuke commended

the robot sighed out of frustration ”all of you brats are so annoying that it makes me wanna puke” the robot turned his back to ryuji and yusuke and he set his eyes on the fresh and undamaged ren

ren’s gaze didn’t break the entire time he walked towards him

he stopped only a few couple of meters away from them putting a good bit of distance between the two

“and you are..?” the robot asked

“the one to take you down..” ren pointed his dagger to him

”how cliche..” the robot aimed a psy spell to ren “now then it’s time for your turn”

he charged it and then shot it directly aiming for ren’s face 

the shot directly hit but it didn’t even seem to phase ren

after ren recovered from the attack and he aimed his hand at the robot

”eigaon” ren simply uttered those words as he let out a large curse spell aimed directly towards the robot

”wha!?” the robot responded in utter shock as the attack was stronger than the what he had anticipated

the robot shook off the dust that collected into his body and his white suit

”lucky shot” the robot acquainted ren’s strength to luck

”damn brat!” the robot began to run towards him with his fist aimed towards ren

ren didn’t even blink as the robot charged at him

ren swiftly dodged and then began to unload more curse spells although not as big and powerful as the one before into the robot’s chassis

ren then took out his pistol and started firing on the robot forcing him to block with his arms

the robot backed up a little startled by ren’s sudden onslaught 

“he’s different from the rest..” the robot muttered to himself

”but not different enough” the robot began to focus all of his energy into one entire attack aimed at ren

”die!” the robot shot out the spell that looked large enough to engulf ren

ren summoned arsene and another persona and he shot another large heavy attack which challenged the attack the robot had sent causing a gigantic explosion 

“don’t think you can play with me that easily!” ren said as he began to run at him, anger boiling

the robot staggered at first but he challenegd ren

ren summoned another persona and then boosted himself so he would be faster and stronger

the robot went for a strike but ren easily dodged and he took a jab at the robot

it didn’t do much to the robot but it showed just how different ren really fared compared to his adversaries

while the others did very tactical and smart plays by circling and entrapping the robot ren didn’t need that as he could just dodge the attacks with ease and then counter attack with double the power

the robot jumped back and shot another psy attack

ren dodged and continued his pursuit against the robot as he berated the robot with dagger strikes and pistol shots

“I won’t succumb to this!” the robot launched an attack with both fists as a last ditch effort to get rid of ren

ren easily dodged such a simple attack like that and then he lunged at the robot aiming the tip of his blade right towards the head of the robot

he spun around in the air and then ended up behind the robot

”h-how....how could I have lost to someone as inferior as you...”

the attack ren did ended up beheading the robot cleanly from chin upwards

the head sparked and gave off some smoke as it slowly fell off the robot’s body

a small explosion came from the head and body but nothing that was remarkable

ren stared back as he saw the robot fall onto the ground and then turn into black mist that faded away into the air

ren exhaled as he had used up a lot of his energy already

he turned his attention to his friends who all looked beat up and destroyed

ren ran over and he began to examine ryuji

”you alright?”

”never better” ryuji said whilst chuckling but he soon regretted it as his sides began to hurt from the pain

”I’ll do my best” ren didn’t have his supplies on him as he left them with shiho but he had a persona that could heal him

although not as effective as if someone else were to heal them such as haru, ann or morgana, hell maybe even makoto could do a better job at healing than him but it was good enough to heal his injuries to where ryuji could stand

after he healed ryuji he turned his attention to  yusuke who was easier to deal with than ryuji so he didn’t have to focus a lot of his time to heal him

after he healed them both they were able to stand up again and be in actual fighting condition even though both of their injuries caused stinging bruises that continued to stay with them and that would most likely hinder their performance for the time being

he then walked over to makoto and morgana

makoto was barely breathing while morgana had his persona out healing her as best as he could

”what’s her condition?”

”badly injured, I’m gonna need some help”

ren held out his hand in order for his persona to heal her

” **don’t, you don’t have enough energy to heal her. it’s best to leave it to morgana** ”

what arsene said angered ren as arsene thought he couldn’t heal makoto

”I got this” ren said to himself as he tried his best to heal makoto

but even at its best it could barely do much as makoto’s condition didn’t see any major improvement with ren’s attempt to heal her

ren growled at himself because his attempts were fruitless

”let me help” ann put ren’s hand down and she began to heal makoto which did much more than what ren was doing 

“panther? where’d did you-“

”the same way you did” ann looked back to where ren had blown a hole in the ceiling

ren did the same and he saw mishima and shiho also there as well

even though mishima was hanging off the side of the hole as he was afraid to jump down but shiho was there to pry his fingers off and force him down

”you did...”

ren put away his persona and he let ann take over his healing duties

once makoto started to breathe normally they both stopped their healing

there was nothing more to be done as all that was left was for makoto to rest up and awaken on her own terms

ann stared back to the others with a concerned look “what happened..?”

”we were ambushed completely by okumura’s lackey and I suppose haru’s fiancé from the looked of it” morgana said as his persona started to fade away

”how did you know?” ann asked

”he called haru his fiancé so I assume it was the fiancé haru was talking about”

”and if he was strong enough to take out everyone here then okumura must be even stronger” futaba concluded as she exited her ufo and went down to speak with the three of them

”anyways we need to get out of here, half of us can barely even walk let alone fight”

ryuji walked to them and be tried to pick up makoto

”I got this” ryuji picked makoto up and he hid away the amount of stress it put on his body but his voice showed that his muscles still ached and his injuries were still there even if he was healed

“I’ll help” shiho walked over and helped ryuji by putting her arms over their shoulders instead of a carry

”then I’ll go help with noir” ren walked over to haru and attempted to pick her up

ren didn’t struggle as much as ryuji due to ren not having as severe injuries as him so he had an easier time carrying haru

”actually ren shouldn’t you let someone else carry her?” shiho said

”why?” ren didn’t understand

”like you said, half of us are injured and I think it’s best if you took charge” shiho argued

”I guess that’s fine...but who’s gonna take noir?”

”let admin have her, his noodles arms need training so it’ll be good for him” shiho pinned the responsibility 

”wha- I don’t think I need to do that” mishima was getting flustered

”you make a very good point raven” ren nodded along with shiho

”well then admin, she’s all yours” shiho snickered to herself while patting mishima in the back

mishima walked over to ren blushing as he was embarrassed by shiho’s teasing

”I’ll take her..” mishima mumbled

after some more shuffling mishima ended up giving haru a little piggy back ride

mishima’s legs shook as he hadn’t exercised in a while

mishima silently mumbled to himself as he walked past ren

shiho snickered to herself after seeing mishima struggle

”if you’re gonna help at least y’know..help!?” ryuji barked at shiho for not focusing on carrying makoto 

”my bad, my bad”

”anyways everyone move out! me, panther and mona will take the front while oracle will watch our behind”

* * *

the group headed out of the room where they encounter sugimura and they continued back to where they first started

there were a few shadows here and there but they were dispatched by the three that could still fight and were in mostly peak fighting condition

”mona, mind telling me exactly what happened?” ann asked as she was still kept in the dark

”like we said, we were ambushed by noir’s fiancé as none of us knew he’d be that strong”

”but what about haru and makoto’s injuries?” ann mainly wanted to know about what happened to the both of them overall

”noir was grabbed and then slammed by the robot and shot, she sustained heavy damage but not as much as makoto who took a strike right to her spine” morgana looked to makoto “I’m surprised her spine isn’t shattered by that attack”

”this really is scarier than I thought” ann couldn’t even imagine what the sight looked like

”this palace isn’t meant to be taken lightly, if anything perhaps the phantom thieves presence might be making him more wary of our movements around here” yusuke tied everything together in his mind 

”that’s a good way of putting it fox, but let’s focus on that after we get out of here”

”joker, shadow 12 o clock!” futaba warned ren

”I’ll take him” joker said as he rushed outwards

morgana sighed as he stared at the group who lost completely battered and out of it for today

they may even have to postpone their trips for a while due to the injuries everyone received

it wasn’t like anything to get faced when they fought the palace owners but maybe it’s because there was only have of them

or because they’ve had their hand held by ren the entire time

rem was usually the guy to take out or help in taking on the big powerful shadows

if anything what happened today was a testament to how little they’ve actually gone through in terms of strength

*BAM* a gunshot was heard in the background as ren finished off the shadow

”it’s clear!” ren yelled while waving his arms for the group to follow him

” _maybe I should bring it up to him..._ ” morgana thought to himself

after some more walking around they finally made it back to the entrance of the palace 

ryuji breathed a heavy sigh “we made it...and none of us died..”

”you almost did though” yusuke said without second thought 

“yeah..but I didn’t did i?” ryuji said while smiling goofily 

ren turned around to glance at ryuji but he’d save the lectures for when they left

” **there’s something watching us...** ” arsene said to himself as he gazed around to see who this ‘something’ was but he didn’t have enough time to investigate

* * *

_**The real world** _

the group spawned into the real world once again

they all decided their first move was to return to leblanc

futaba already gave the ok as sojiro was out for today and the sip was closed early so they could easily have a quiet peaceful talk with one another

after an empty train ride they entered leblanc and went up to the attic immediately

ryuji and shiho gently let makoto down onto ren’s bed while haru got the futon

both haru and makoto were still dead asleep as they were the ones who suffered the most injuries

ren went into his boxes in his cabinet and he pulled out some bandages and pain relief ointment

”ryuji, yusuke. catch” ren tossed both of them a bandage and pain relief cream each

“bandages?” ryuji said very much confused

”and some lotion” yusuke read the label and it contents

”they’re for your injuries, if it’s as bad as how I saw them, then you’ll have to use those”

”I’m fine, nothing is wrong” ryuji assures

ren walked over to ryuji and flicked his ribs

ryuji immediately and almost instantly responded by holding his ribs where ren flicked in pain and he let out a small squeal 

“those will last a while so you might wanna use them”

”thank you for you consideration for us” yusuke thanked ren as he put away the ointment and bandage

”anyways I wanna speak about what happened” ren started the real part of the conversation he wanted to get to

”is it about the robot?” futaba asked

”yeah..it’s about how what happened”

”well I think we need to train more. we could barely do anything to him, let alone actually try to take him down” morgana said

”yeah..I think some training is in order but I wanna mainly concern with the mission at hand”

”what is it?” shiho asked curious to where this conversation would go

”I want to postpone our trips for a while until we actually heal up and train some more” ren announced

the group looked to eachother in shock

”what do you mean postpone?” ann asked surprised to what ren said

”I mean what I mean, I wanna focus our duties to actually training instead of going into the metaverse”

”what about haru?” morgana questioned

”we’re not in a rush so I think it’ll be okay for her if we take a break for a while and focus our attention to other places”

”dude that makes no freakin sense” ryuji said a little angry that they weren’t going into the metaverse for now

”ryuji I want you to look at yourself, not only are you injured but if what morgana told me and from what you said yourself was that makoto sacrificed herself and you almost died. if makoto didn’t risk her life you’d be dead”

ryuji gritted his teeth as it was true, he would’ve died if it wasn’t for makoto

”what about mona! he messed up just as much as me!” ryuji pointed his finger to morgana

”me!? what did I do?” morgana said confused

lwhat ah e you done that’s been significant? nothing! you’re just some useless cat!”

”at least I nearly cost us the life of a teammate!”

the two began to bicker 

”you guys stop arguing-“ ann tried to intervene

”that’s enough!” ren’s voice was louder than everyone else’s and it caught the attention of everyone that was awake at that moment “you two need to stop bickering with eachother and look around you, makoto and haru nearly died and yet the two of you argue like there’s nothing wrong. open your eyes and realize you aren’t invulnerable to the responsibility of you actions”

” **I think that was a little far** ”

”he started it!” ryuji still pointed his finger to morgana

”oh yeah you wanna-“ morgana was cut off by ren

”morgana this isn’t the time. you need to realize what you’ve done” ren said sternly

”but I haven’t done anything this time”

”yet you’re arguing with ryuji” 

”because HE started it, I don’t understand how you can’t see that” morgana left an angry rebuttal

”morgana this is serious”

”I am serious!” morgana said angrily

”if you were you’d be able to catch up to ren but let’s face it you’ll always get second fiddle or maybe third since makoto is here” ryuji mocked morgana

”I can make a good leader!”

”like hell you would” ryuji laughed at morgana which only seemed to anger him

”ryuji...” ren said with an angry look on his face

”I think it’s enough you two” shiho said a little worried if this would make ryuji and morgana not speak to one another

“you know what...fine, fine that’s great” morgana said pretty calmly

”what?” ryuji asked

”I’ll just make a new phantom thieves” morgana said without hesitation or doubts in his mind

”y-you can’t be serious” ryuji tried to hold back his laughter

”that’s right I’ll just make an entirely new phantom thieves where I’m the leader”

”morgana just don’t” ren tired to sway morgana’s thoughts

”no and you wanna know why? it’s because of you ren”

”me?” ren was genuinely confused

”you always pocket us and force us to watch your fights, maybe we want a chance as getting stronger too but there you go hogging all of the spotlight and the credit”

everyone looked at morgana with confusion

”you always act like you know better yet you keep secrets from us the entire time, all you do is keep us in the dark and force us to be dragged along. I bet you don’t even need us but we’re just here for you self appeasement”

all of what morgana has said hit every nail in ren’s body

ren stayed silent as he thought about it

morgana didn’t know but what each of his points held a way deeper meaning that was morgana was first leading on

”morgana I think that’s enough, let’s calm down and relax” ann tried to calm morgana’s temper

”no! because everything I’ve done has been overshadowed by you guys because of some reason or another and I hate that! I’m a persona too, I wanna be special and yet I’m stuck here being the guy who’s only purpose is to turn into a car”

morgana started to walk over to the stairs

”and you know what I’ll prove to you that I can be useful and that I can become a good leader that shares everything with everyone”

morgana started to walk downstairs

”where are you going?” yusuke asked

”to make a whole new team, it’s seems like this one doesn’t WANT me!” morgana kept walking leaving the group in the attack by themselves

” **ren you need** **to run after him** ” 

ren didn’t budge an inch

” **ren! let’s go!** ”

ren was too busy in his thoughts to even care

still, what morgana said reminded him of some one else

” _I wanna help!_ ”

” _why are you keeping secrets!?_ ”

” _I’m not even a person to you aren't i?_ ” her voice rang in ren’s mind three separate times

”damn cat, I bet he’ll come back in like two days” ryuji was still snarky

”ryuji, this ain’t time to mess around. morgana just left” ann said a little angry that ryuji is still happy with morgana leaving

”so? it’s not like anything will happen” ryuji was certain about it

”you never know, this world is a strange place and if he’s willing to drag anyone with a slight rebellious heart then he really will go through with what he says” yusuke said

”this doesn’t seem good” futaba said very worried for morgana

”don’t worry, like I said nothing bad’ll happen...right?” ryuji said still certain everything was fine

* * *

_**Tokyo streets** _

”damn ryuji saying I don’t have what it takes I’ll show him....I’ll show them all and then they’ll have to respect me” morgana said with resolve

”now it’s time I deal with okumura without them”

morgana was somehow able to walk all the way back to the okumura hq

”now then it’s time I go in myself”

but before morgana could go in something else appeared in front of him out of nowhere

there was now one in front of him yet some young teenage boy spawned right in front of him

”wha? where did he?”

the teen looked down and he saw the cat

”a cat?”

”crap I have to act natural...how do cats act...uhhh” morgana tried to improvise

”a..talking cat...?” the boy responded with

”what you can understand me?”

”am I not supposed to?” he said pretty confused

”who are you?” morgana asked

“oh me? my apologies, my name is goro akechi” the teen revealed his name to morgana


	92. Change of lifestyle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot an important detail last chapter and i accidentally put ‘him’ and not ‘her’ in one of the last sentences
> 
> “her voice rang in ren’s mind three separate times”
> 
> This line was the one if you were wondering
> 
> only did this because of how important this line was

“I somehow didn’t recognize you but it’s probably because of you outfit” morgana eyed akechi from his head to his toes

akechi wasn’t in his usual suit 

in its place was a long black jacket that covered his buttoned up shirt and some black slacks 

“who are you?” akechi asked

”I’m morgana and yes I can talk” 

“a talking cat....I really think I’ve lost it now”

”no you’re not losing it, I’m all real”

”so you say” akechi was very skeptical about morgana

akechi began poking at morgana’s stomach 

“so then....are you gonna tell me why you’re wearing that dark jacket and not your suit?” morgana asked while akechi was repeatedly poking his stomach

“it’s because i don’t want people to notice me, so I went and got a disguise for this”

”that makes sense, you don’t want people to bother you” morgana got the gist of what akechi was doing 

“so....” akechi started to get down to his questions as he held morgana up to his eye level “how can you speak?” akechi questioned that part of morgana first

”well that’s because you’ve been in the metaverse”

”ok?” that didn’t answer akechi’s question

”well I’m guessing you were thrown in when we all went into the metaverse...this is gonna be a doozy” morgana tried to think

”what do you mean we?” akechi questioned

”oh me and my friends..or well old friends...” morgana’s ears dropped down

”what’s wrong?”

”it’s just they kinda began to blame me and yell and me for stuff and then one of them said I wasn’t good enough so I wanted to shoe that to him by making my own group” morgana said as he stared at akechi hoping he’d be the first one to join

”they seem pretty mean to me”

”they are! and they keep underestimating me and I show them how strong I can be!” morgana let his frustrations on full display to akechi

”so I see you really have some issues with these ‘friends’ of yours” akechi didn’t know how to respond to morgana

but he did know that morgana probably meant ryuji and ren’s group

”yeah I think you saw them once once before”

”I have?” akechi decided to play dumb

he didn’t know if morgana was still affiliated with ren but he couldn’t take chances and risk morgana coming back to ren to tell him about this

if he did that would screw up his plan for revenge as he wasn’t fully ready yet

he still wanted a satisfactory end to ren and his friends that had enough pain and torment for ren to endure

just thinking about the plan made akechi grin sinisterly

”anyways now that you’re here I’m guessing you saw the horrors of a palace?” morgana unintentionally made akechi snap out of his mind

”yeah..? you mean those creatures right?”

”shadows is what they are called but yes I do mean that”

”mind taking me for a tour of the palace then?” akechi suggested

”so you’ll be in my team??” morgana’s eyes gleamed and his tail started to wag excitedly

”s-sure, anything you want exchange for my assistance” akechi said a little off guard by morgana’s excitement

”well then do you know how the meta nab works?” morgana asked

”I believe it’s this app with the eye?”

”yep! that one!”

akechi held morgana in one hand while using his phone in the other

akechi opened the meta nav 

“now then the keywords were, Kunikazu okumura, Big Bang Burger hq and outer space”

then the two of them started to disappear into the metaverse and okumura’s palace

akechi smiled and he silently snickered

” _this is where it can finally begin_ ”

akechi and morgana disappeared into okumura’s palace

* * *

_**Leblanc** _

makoto started to open her eyes slightly

she started to realize that she was in leblanc and on ren’s bed for some odd reason

she sat up and saw that no one was there present in the attic

she scanned around and she saw haru sleeping on ren’s futon

seemed she made it out of the palace alive and well

makoto thought it be best to check on her so she decided that she should try to get up to check on her but as she did her back gave her a sharp pain as if she was being stabbed directly in her spine

she let out a small noise and she fell back down

she lifted her back slightly to feel where the pain was coming from

she felt it right where she was stricken by the robot

seems like the injury transferred to the real world as well

after some more deep breaths she got past the pain and she stood up off of the bed holding the side of her stomach 

she limped over to haru and found her still asleep but her face seemed to be in distress like she was thinking of something terrible

”I think i shouldn’t wake her” makoto said quietly

makoto kept walking to the stairs but she nearly collapsed and fell to one knee

”so this what ren felt when that pillar crushed his back” makoto compared her injury to ren’s

she stood back up and she kept inching her way towards the staircase

she finally made it over and she grabbed onto the railing

before she could take the first step down she heard something from downstairs

”like I said we need to find him” a voice that might’ve been ren’s was heard downstairs

”look I’m sorry for pushing his buttons but I don’t think there’s any way for us to find him, he’s long gone” a loud voice that was definitely ryuji’s was downstairs

”let’s keep a level head even if it’s ryuji’s fault for this” sounded like ann was there as well

”whatever! not like we needed him” ryuji tried to defend himself

”what? are you gonna be our car now?” shiho mocked ryuji

”I will not!” ryuji replied angrily

”anyways let’s go upstairs and check” yusuke suggested

”I’m awake!” makoto shouted so that the others could hear

makoto heard the shuffling of the others going to see her

the group climbed back upstairs to see makoto who was still holding her sides

”makoto! you’re awake” ryuji said first as he was the one who felt most responsible for what happened to makoto

”go back to bed it isn’t best if you immediately try to move with those injuries”

”right...”

makoto made her way back over to ren’s bed while the rest of the group went upstairs to help makoto

ryuji helped guide makoto back to ren’s bed while ren was getting more bandages and pain relief ointment

”makoto are you alright?” shiho asked very concerned for her health

”I’m fine it’s just this is pain that I didn’t think would be so excruciating” makoto said as she gazed at the health supplies ren had tossed her

”anyways besides me how come morgana isn’t with you?” makoto asked as she saw that the cat was no where to be found

“uhhh..” ryuji didn’t know whether or not he should answer

”it’s a long story” mishima said

”if no one wishes to tell then I will instead” yusuke said

”it doesn’t matter who” makoto replied

”anyways after you were knocked out we escaped with the help of ren and the others back into the real world” yusuke stopped there

mishima picked up where yusuke left off “after that we came here to let you guys rest up while we tried to think what we were going to do after this”

futaba picked up the conversation ”and ryuji and mona had a fight with eachother and mona’s jealousy and anger got the best of him so he called out ryuji and then said he would make a better leader than ren and then dipped”

”so he just left..? just like that” makoto said pretty confused that the conclusion to the issue was that morgana just left

”yep” futaba said

”there really isn’t anything else there besides that” ann nodded

”well do we know where he went” makoto asked just to see that no one knew the answer

no one attempted to go after him as they were busy scolding ryuji for what he did

makoto realized that no one actually tried to find morgana after judging based on their faces. she massaged her brow to not let her frustration through “so...what are we going to do now?”

”it’s best for all of you to rest, I think the ones who aren’t injured should be good enough for more palace exploration” ren suggested

”like us 5?” futaba asked

”yes, it will be the five of us” ren nodded

”but didn’t we get demolished when there was 6 of us?” futaba asked a little concerned

ren reached over and patted futaba’s head “don’t worry I’ll be there” ren have a smile that assured futaba of her safety

”I guess that’ll do” shiho nodded

”as long as ren is with us I think it’ll be fine” ann didn’t mind only being a group of 5

”what about us?” yusuke asked

”like I said, you guys need to rest up and seeing as how makoto didn’t wake up until now and that haru is asleep you all need to rest and recover”

”got it, though it’ll be boring not being able to go and kill shadows” ryuji complained but he was totally fine with it

”well if you want you guys can go that’s all I wanted to say”

”I’ll take my leave then” yusuke was the first one to leave

”what about haru?” ann asked

”no worries I’ll tell her about every once she wakes up”

”then that settles that” shiho walked downstairs but not after calling ann “ann let’s get something together”

”coming!” ann followed behind shiho “see all of you later!” ann waved as she left the attic

”well then I’ll see y’all after” ryuji left the attic still holding onto his stomach

”sorry to ask this of you futaba but can you rub this for me?”

”i don’t see why not” futaba walked over to makoto

”can you two go downstairs, I don’t want you guys to peek” makoto was too exhausted and weak to raise her voice to the two boys who were on the room

”sure” ren started to go downstairs “let’s go yuuki”

”right behind you”

the two headed downstairs while the two girls were helping eachother out

”hey ren I have something to ask you”

”lay it on me”

”can you train with me?”

”like go to the gym? don’t we already do that?” ren was confused as the two of them and ryuji usually exercised together

”I mean like in the metaverse and stuff, my phantom thief gear is mainly meant for close quarters engagements so I wanted to be more proficient in that so I could help out more”

”alright I’m down”

” **apprenticeship, it all comes full circle** ”

”thanks ren, that’s all I wanted to ask” mishima turned around and left the shop

”that’s all he wanted?”

” **he’s very passionate** ”

”yeah, he is”

” **reminds me of you back then** ”

”you say that like I’m old” ren said a little offended

” **take it as a compliment** ”

”yeah yeah whatever”

” **still..you think that cat is doing alright?** ”

”if he’s been able to hold his own before I doubt he is struggling”

” **you think he could cross paths with him?** ”

”I hope not”

” **all we can do is hope it seems** ”

* * *

_**Spaceport** _

”woahh! so you already awakened? but when?” 

”not sure to be honest but it randomly happened when I saw one of those..creatures”

akechi was still playing dumb in order too fool morgana so that he wouldn’t be suspicious

and morgana was too emotionally vulnerable to suspect a thing

”shadows” morgana reminded akechi

”shadows. but is this what palaces look like?” akechi looked around the place

”it depends on the user’s feelings and for this one he feels like a spaceport...for some reason that I can not grasp”

”odd...”

”by the way your outfit...it looks very...marching band like..”

morgana pointed out how akechi was dressed

akechi was able to switch his outfits from his black mask into the outfit he actually awakened in

his outfit was a bright white with red accents suit kinda like how a noble or a guard would wear and his mask was a ren one with a long nose

”it’s not a marching band!?” akechi was offended by that comment “it’s a noble’s outfit that romanticizes who I am on the inside” 

“cool....anyways let’s go around the palace” morgana went ahead

”some people..”

* * *

_**Deeper into the spaceport** _

”by the way” morgana asked “we need a code name for you in case this palace remembers anything about us”

”sure”

”how about detective prince” morgana made the code name based of his 

“I’d rather be called crow” akechi settler immediately not wishing to be called that in here so he just went with his old code name that ren gave him

”crow...alright that works” morgana didn’t mind it

”what about yours?”

”I am..the gentleman thief” morgana said with confidence

”oh.....I’ll just call you cat” akechi didn’t want to say that mouth full name morgana chose for himself

morgana looked at him a little surprised by how blunt akechi let his reaction be

”anyways let’s go” akechi walked ahead of morgana

”hey wait” morgana jogged to catch up to him

”hmm?” akechi asked

”you can’t go alone these shadows are pretty tough”

”I think I can handle them, I know how to fight despite my looks” akechi knew how to fight as he sparred with ren enough time to be skilled enough to fight

not to mention the fact that he had actual experience in martial arts that challenges ren’s own skill

”well do you even know how to engage the shadows?” morgana asked as he thought akechi didn’t know how to deal with them

“you take off their masks right?”

”yeah...did you already fight some of them?” morgana asked

akechi then realized he said too much

he had to play dumb so he had to think of more excuses to keep morgana from not suspecting a thing

”well I figured it would be like that because I was attacked by a few of them”

”and you awakened?”

”awakened?”

”like how you got your outfit”

”y-yeah..” akechi tried to sound as believable as he could

”and your not tired?”

”I’ve done endurance training before so this isn’t new to me” akechi was used to pushing his body to its upmost limits

”well we already made it past the basics so I guess we can go back. no point in going far right now especially when we’re this beat”

”wait where are you going to stay?” akechi asked

”oh...” morgana realized he couldn’t stay with ren “uhh..mind if I stay at your place?” morgana pleaded

”sure but don’t make a mess of the place”

”thank you!”

the two headed back to the start in order to head back to the real world

* * *

_**Leblanc** _

”I’m sorry for all the trouble I caused” haru bowed in front of ren

”it’s fine don’t sweat it” ren reassured

haru had since woken up and she was administered the same bandage and pain relief treatment makoto had gotten

furaba had already left the cafe in order to go back to sojiro’s house so it was just haru, makoto and ren

makoto and ren also told haru about all of had what happened since she was knocked out by the sugimura robot

”I was a little shocked back there and that’s why I was stuck there”

haru had also told them about what sugimura told her a few days earlier

makoto put her hand on haru’s shoulder “it’s ok we don’t expect for you to tell us about such a scary situation”

”anyways you two should go and heal up, we won’t go back into the palace as a large group until then”

”I guess that is the best decision you could make” haru still felt that she was at fault for everything that had happened

”once you heal up you can join back but since we’re in no real rush so the five of us who aren’t that badly damaged can go”

”thank you and again sorry for the trouble I’ve caused” haru apologized again

”you don’t need to be sorry all the time” ren insisted

”but still you saved or lives and I can’t repay that”

”you can repay me by resting up and making sure you don’t push yourself” 

“well that’s all I have to say. I’ll see you later” haru turned around to walk out

”I’ll come with you just in case” makoto followed haru

”thank you mako-chan”

the two left the shop leaving only ren to himself

ren then sat down at one of the booth seats

” **speaking of pushing yourself I think you need to heed your own words** ”

ren laughed “ _maybe, but now that we’re down half the team I don’t think I can afford that_ ”

” **its always you wanting the best for everyone isn’t it?** ”

” _i don’t wanna repeat the same mistakes_ ”

ren started down at his hands

he had already lost two of his friends

one through death and the other through months of built up tension all because of ren wishing ‘the best’ for his friends

and now the third one left because of him

it tore ren’s mind as he thought about his actions

he tried to do everything right yet the same outcome always came up

and the only thing ren could do was to keep trying as hard as can

even if his own exhaustion and fear was eating him from the inside

” **you’re hopeless** ”

* * *

_**Akechi’s apartment** _

akechi unlocked the door to his apartment and he let morgana through

it was a fairly large apartment so to speak

cozy enough for most celebrities but modest enough for perhaps a couple or a small family to live in

”this is your place?” morgana walked around the place

”yep” akechi placed his coat on a hanger next to the door

”and...where do you sleep?”

”on a bed? in the room down that hall”

”oh...by the way do you have any food? I’m kinda starving”

akechi sighed “I believe I have some leftover sushi somewhere in the fridge” akechi walked over to the kitchen and opened the fridge to find that leftover sushi

”you don’t mind what kind of fish it is?” akechi asked as he pulled the leftover fish out of the fridge

”it doesn’t matter, I’ll eat whatever fish you have” morgana couldn’t be picky in this situation as he had just met akechi and he’s now hopefully sleeping in his house

”got it” akechi took the fish out and he quickly heated it into the microwave before putting it on a plate and putting down on the floor for morgana to eat

morgana walked over and he began to eat the fish

”this is pretty good for being some odd leftovers”

”well I’m glad you liked it, I’m gonna head over to my room and change” akechi stood back up and he walked over to his room

”if you want you can sleep on the couch in the living room but try not to make a mess” akechi went into his room to change into clothes he could sleep in

”thanks..” morgana kept eating the sushi while akechi prepared for bed

once morgana finished he turned around and walked over the bed but not before jumping up to the window sill only to stare out of the window

”I wonder what ren is doing...”

morgana then realized what he had just said

”why am I worried about ren!? it’s his fault that this happened” morgana said to himself angrily

morgana then jumped back down and onto the couch

”this is kinda comfy, at least better than that bed ren had...”

”nrgghhh there it is again, I don’t miss ren! that bastard left me like this so I shouldn’t care about it!” morgana kept trying to tell himself

”good night morgana!” akechi yelled as he was already in his bed 

“oh uh night!” morgana shouted back

morgana then laid down onto the couch in a comfortable spot

”I don’t need him” morgana grumbled you himself as he closed his eyes

”I’ll show him, I’ll be a different cat from now on” morgana said to himself before finally dozing off and finally getting some rest after what happened today

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Being dm for my friends in a dnd group is fun but it’s scary with some of the things I come up with for my friends to go through
> 
>  
> 
> In other news i might stuff two chapters together because they may end up getting to small for my taste


	93. Same yet different

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never thought I’d getting so addicted to the new animal crossing game

_**Akechi’s apartment** _

it was morning time and akechi was getting ready for another interview on national tv once more

“you have to stay here, I can’t bring a cat along with me and that isn’t something I can risk”

and morgana had asked him to bring him along but akechi refused to do such a thing

”I see, it is quite reasonable I mean it is hard to transport a cat with you” morgana was reasonably upset as he always stayed with ren and he was always by his side

maybe being homesick was affected him way more than he anticipated

”I’ll bring you something after ok?”

”sure thing...” morgana’s tail wagged at little faster but it was still noticeable slow and sad

”see you” akechi left his apartment closing the door behind him

before he actually got a move on to his destination he opened his bag and took out a pill bottle

” _you’re gonna need these_ ” hisoka’s voice rang in akechi’s mind

”I still don’t understand why I need something like this” akechi sighed but he quickly took a pill and swallowed it

it wouldn’t hurt to keep using them as he trusted hisoka and there would be no way that he would betray him like a certain frizzy hair did

”still there’s nothing wrong with me so I don’t get why he gives them to me” akechi thought there was nothing wrong with him

almost immediately akechi felt a calm sensation like something within him was being chained down

maybe there was something else within the pills that did this to akechi

whatever it was he didn’t mind it as he trusted  hisoka to not poison him

after that akechi made his way to the recording studio for the morning show

* * *

back on the inside of the apartment morgana basked in the sun as that was all that he could really do

”this is so lame” morgana said

”might as well explore”

morgana began to looked around the apartment

seeing as there was only one person living here he didn’t expect a boat load of thing lying around the place

he first inspected the bathroom which was very fancy

nothing like what he saw at leblanc

actual furnished furniture and beautiful tiles all around

it made morgana feel a little smaller by being in such a decorated room like this

he couldn't stand to stay there for another second so he moved on to akechi’s room

alechi’s bed was made and tidy

his room had nothing really extraordinary, just a slightly opened closet with most of not all of akechi’s clothing and two nightstands

nothing special up or down so morgana moves on

morgana stepped backwards and he ended up stumbling onto another room that he didn’t notice the first time

”huh this one has a lock”

the room was closed shut not letting any air or any sunlight in or out and it had a huge padlock on it

morgana couldn’t open it without a passcode so he couldn’t investigate it

although it was definitely something to take note of

there must’ve been something on the inside that must’ve been important to him

but he’ll respect his privacy and it would’ve been very rude to ask him anyways

so all morgana could do was sit around or just sleep until he comes back

* * *

_**Afterschool** _

ren was still in school just walking around

he decided that he should text everyone in the thieves group chat to see if they were up for some exploration but more importantly

he wanted to know if anyone had seen morgana

[Re: any sight of morgana?]

[F: nope]

[H: sadly not]

[Y: he’s a sneaky one so it’ll be hard to track him]

[Ry: who cares, he’s annoying anyways]

and there goes ryuji who’s been unloading his pent up anger towards morgana

[Re: ryuji we don’t need to go through this again]

[Re: anyway besides that]

[Re: I think we know what the plan is until everyone heals right]

[S: can we do it another day? my old volleyball teammates invited me to go out]

[A: perfect, i was going to go visit Gary and help her out with her injury]

[F: rip]

[Re: sure, I guess we can do it tomorrow]

ren put away his phone and he let out a huge sigh

” **at least we’re not pressed for time** ”

” _even so I don’t wanna go in there alone unless I have to_ ”

” **time to rest is what you would call it** ”

” _rest isn’t what I need arsene_ ”

” **stubborn as always, that’s why you keep nearly collapsing** ”

ren groaned

”hey ren!” a peppy voice came towards ren

ren looked over and he saw mishima coming towards him

”what’s up yuuki?” ren greeted mishima

”can we train I wanna be as ready as I can for this fight” mishima looked very pumped as he spoke to ren

”you’re really excited for this” ren didn’t understand where mishima got his energy to fight from

”I am! I don’t wanna let anyone down” mishima then went diving into his bag “I even got some snacks and refreshments too”

ren saw this and he couldn’t help but hold his stomach and laugh

”ren..?” mishima thought ren was making fun of him

ren wiped a tear from his eye “never change yuuki, now come on I’ll teach you what I know”

ren walked ahead of mishima

”let’s do it”

mishima followed behind and the two had a nice chat on the way

* * *

_**Haru’s apartment** _

ann put away her phone and she turned back to haru who was in her bed

“guess I can stay a little longer” ann said as she took a sip of her tea that haru’s maid reiko gave her

ann was sitting on haru’s bed while haru was in her bed taking to ann

haru had stayed home due to her back injury and after reiko had forced her to stay

”I’m sorry that I’m too injured to even help” haru said disappointed in herself

”its fine it’s not your fault” ann assured

”still I didn’t expect for any of this to happen, morgana’s leaving and for half of the team to be in no fighting condition...ren must be disappointed”

ann sighed “ren isn’t like that if anything he probably feels more at fault that something like this happened”

”you think so?” haru asked

”I know so, ren’s a big goofball like that” ann giggled as she thought about ren

”I guess you are right in a way..ren is the type to put himself in the center of all of this” the more haru thought about it the more clear it seemed to be

”still there’s something else that I don’t know about ren” ann stop swaying her foot around as she kept thinking about all that her and ren have done

“like what?” haru said curious to what ann was speaking about

”well...” ann thought about that one instance when ren tried to hide his injuries from her but no matter what she did he was being honest with her

she could tell due to his demeanor and how he was acting but there was something else lying behind ren’s lies

”ren was trying to hide these injuries he gave to himself on his hands...he told me it was stress but I don’t buy that” ann shook her head as she kept thinking about it

”ren hurt himself?” haru was confused as she didn’t remember a time when ren was injured besides the time when the limestone pillar fell on his back

”remember when ren had bandages on his hands?” ann tried to recall for haru

”yes..? is that what you mean” haru was stil confused

”yes, when I saw the palm of his hand it looked like he dug his nails into them and it wasn’t like he did it on accident it looks like it was on purpose” ann didn’t wanna think about it but she couldn’t help it

”you think there’s something else that ren is hiding?” haru started to see eye to eye with ann

”there has to be, ren always seemed paranoid in a way at least that’s what I think” ann tried to picture what would ren hide

“you think it has something to do with kasumi?” haru considered her as that was the only real secret ren told everyone

”no? why would it?” ann didn’t think it was of any importance to the subject matter

”well what if kasumi and ren dated and that’s why he doesn’t mention her” haru thought about it and it would make sense for ren to not speak about an ex girlfriend of his

”t-that’s bullshit! ren told me he hadn’t dated anyone!” ann got immediately angry and defensive

”by what if?” 

“no way! there’s no way he dated anyone!” ann kept getting flustered and she was turning red

”ann-chan...are you perhaps jealous?” haru caught on to what ann was having trouble with

”I am not jealous!” ann tried to defend herself as haru could see how flustered ann was getting

”fine then I’ll ask him!” ann then wanted to prove so she opened her phone and to their private conversation 

[A: hey ren did you ever date kasumi?]

ann kept her eyes on her phone to see if ren would resppnd

a few minutes passed and ren didn’t respond or check the message

ann pouted and she kept getting flustered

”he’s not answering is he?” haru didn’t expect ann to have this reaction to the thought of ren maybe dating kasumi

”why isn’t he responding!?” ann held her phone as she kept awaiting for ren’s text

”maybe he’s busy in mementos” going to explore in mementos was definitely something ren would do

ren always trained in the metaverse for whatever he seemed to be preparing for

”mmm!” ann pouted as she was still at the thought of ren hiding an ex girlfriend from him

”ann-chan it’s probably nothing” haru tried to calm down ann

”but what if it isn’t?” ann kept thinking negatively

”oh dear” haru may have said a little too much

ann kept getting flustered as she thought about it while haru listened 

she wondered if ren was in mementos and what he was doing during it

* * *

_**Mementos** _

”joker..does this always happen when you go in alone?” mishima held his sword tightly as he stood back to back with ren

they were surrounded by several shadows that didn’t leave any room for escape as they kept feeling towards the two

it made mishima a little frightened as he saw the shadows prepare an onslaught of spells and other attacks

”all the time if you’re lucky enough” ren said with confidence as he held his pistol and dagger in each hand

“lucky enough!? are you saying that this is fun!?” mishima was completely caught off guard by ren’s lack of fear

”you’ll see when you clear a few without stopping” ren attempted to assure mishima

”without getting hit!?” mishima kept looking at the shadows prepare their attacks and he was too scared to even move

”try to predict where their attacks are going and you’ll be able to dodge them” ren applied his train of thought to mishima

“easy for you to say! I don’t think I could do half of the things you do” mishima was being negative and he was beating himself up

”that’s why, you think you can’t do it but the truth is you can do it. drop that fear of yours and use it as a motivator to kill these things”

mishima heard this and then he tried to think about it

”use my fear against them..? that’s nuts” mishima said to himself quietly

”I’ll try anyways” mishima closed his eyes and he began to breathe slowly and deeply cancelling all background noise and all distractions

he then reached with himself see enough to see what Rene as talking about

his fear was being replaced by his motivation to kill as many shadows as he can

he at least got that down all the way and hell, mishima was digging it

”ready admin?”

mishima took once last deep breath before opening his eyes that were now filled with a fire that didn’t wanna be put out

”ready..” mishima ready his sword at the first shadow he picked out

”go!”

both of them rushed out and started to go all out as they tried to take out as many shadows as they could

ren being the more experienced one was taking out way more than what mishima was doing but mishima was still pulling his weight around as he kept running through as many shadows as he could

he effortlessly whipped his sword around leaving no shadow in his range alive

a shadow then popped up right next mishima and without a second thought and he pulled his pistol and shot a single bullet taking the shadow out

”this is great!” mishima said as he stylishly spun his over to the nearest shadow and shot “I’ve never felt such adrenaline before!”

”now you understand the exileration! the freedom!” ren wasn’t slowing down as he kept rushing and incorporating his personas in when he needed it

after some more running around the two eventually cleared the entire floor and they left no trace of any lurking shadow

mishima collapsed and he fell to his knees, sweat dropping from his face and forehead

he wiped it off and then gave a sigh of relief “I can’t believe we cleared them all, that was tough...phew!” mishima then fell backwards and he laid his entire body onto the ground

”so how was it?” ren walked over to him, to call ren exhausted would be plain wrong as ren didn’t even break a sweat and he was just asking for more carnage

”great....you’re not tired?” mishima was amazed that ren was still up to fight

”why would I? these are only the easy floors”

”...huh!?” mishima didn’t realize it but since the two had walked their way down the floors but they were barely even knee deep into mementos

the luxury of driving around in the morgana mobile and scrolling past all the easy floors was now all gone because morgana had left the group and everyone was uncertain of when he would come back

”I forgot since morgana isn’t here” mishima groaned

”well let’s keep going then” ren hen grabbed onto the back of mishima’s shirt

”wait were still going!?” mishima was already too exhausted to continue

”well if you wanna train like how I do you gotta go farther in, that’s where the real fun begins” ren started to drag mishima towards the end of the floor where the staircase lied

”huh?” mishima didn’t wanna progress further into mementos after what just happened “what do you mean we’re gonna keep going” mishima started to whine as he was dragged down mementos

”I mean we’re going to keep going, if you are going to be at least half as skilled as I am you need to push past the exhaustion and you have to keep going” ren tried to teach mishima on how he trained in the metaverse

” **not the best thing to relay to your students** ” arsene attempted to reason with ren for mishima’s sake

” _I don’t see an issue with it_ ”

” **because you e ignored everything else I’ve said before and you’ll keep doing it** ”

” _doesn’t matter_ ”

”anyways admin, let’s continue” ren kept dragging mishima

”nooooooooo!” mishima cried out as they kept going deeper into mementos

* * *

_**Shibuya** _

akechi was walking around as he wanted to see if there was a cafe or a restaurant where he could eat at

he had just gotten out of the studio after a few more interviews and some guest start appearances on tv all of which were mainly talking about the same two things

the phantom thieves and the mental shutdown cases

the phantom thieves had been making more and more waves in the news day by day by just existing

all of it annoyed akechi as he was always answering questions about the thieves

’phantom thieves this’ and ‘phantom thieves that’

akechi could care less about it as that’s all that everyone would talk about

if only they could shut up for once

*buzz buzz* 

some buzzing was heard from akechi’s phone as he got a text message from someone

he reached into his pockets and fished out his phone to see it was ryuji who had texted him

[Ry: wanna go get a bite to eat? my treat!]

”looks like this will solve my problem of finding something to eat”

akechi smiled as he walked to the station

he didn’t mind speaking to ryuji as he usually had something to say that would actually peak his interest

or maybe it was just ryuji’s goofy and childish personality that made him stay

or it could be how he and ren held a few similarities in how they deal with things

” _the last thing I wanna think about is him_ ” akechi snarled in his head

* * *

_**Ogikubo** _

“you wanna know something...” ryuji said as he slurped on some ramen “I don’t like people who keep blaming others, that is so damn annoying to hear” ryuji was talking about morgana but he wasn’t describing him specifically

”I see you have some rash feelings about this, anything on your mind” akechi said as he started to eat his bowl of ramen

“yeah” ryuji said with his mouth full of ramen “ever had a friend who thinks highly of themselves and that basically ruins the friendship”

”I...don’t think I’ve had” akechi said with honesty

ren never thought highly of himself at least not in an arrogant way that put himself above everyone..at least not to that degree

”by the way how was your interview? my mom said she was watching it”

”does your mother know about your relationship with me?” akechi asked out of curiosity

”yeah, my mom always wants to know about me and she always asks about it but I don’t really care to be honest”

”you’re mother was divorced if I recall” akechi remembered 

“well I wouldn’t say divorced..I guess she left him or he left her...I dunno man” ryuji could wrap his head around it

”anyways about you not wanting to be famous..you seem pretty adamant about that” akechi stated

”I dunno, like I wanted to be on tv as soon as I could but after you told me how boring it was I can’t say I have the same passion to go, maybe like a gig or something but if it’s as boring and annoying as you describe it you can count me out” ryuji let his mind speak for him as he let akechi know of his own feelings towards fame

”that and I realize that if I do become famous that I may not be able to hang out with my friends enough and I ain’t gonna go through that” ryuji said as he ate the pork off of his ramen “man that’s good!” ryuji couldn’t get enough of his ramen

”you really have a take on it all don’t you?” akechi was impressed by ryuji’s reasonable opinions

”it ain’t much, I’m just some loser after all” ryuji said modestly

”you’re certainly not a loser, you have a big heart and a nice personality to go with” akechi complimented ryuji

”awww thanks man, maybe if I hang out with you lore that prince essence of yours will rub off into me” ryuji strokes his chin as he imagined how to would go

”aaaand I take back what I said” akechi said as he may have jumped the gun on ryuji too soon

“anyways has anything happened to you since our last meeting??” akechi asked

”nah, besides getting absolutely bodied by some giant metal-“ ryuji caught himself before he could say robot “m-m-metal machine equipment” 

akechi laughed as he thought ryuji was trying to make a joke “an odd way to say that you worked yourself too hard but I see what you mean” akechi took a sip of the broth

”y-yeah” ryuji nervously chuckled as he almost spilt the beans

“you shouldn’t push yourself too much, it’s not healthy to do so” akechi advised as he knew from experience

”yeah...but don’t you push yourself when you go on tv?”

”it’s not like I have a choice..” akechi muttered

ryuji heard what akechi had said but he didn’t know what else to add on top of that

the air became silent and awkward as they kept eating their ramen

”hey...” ryuji tried to rekindle the dead conversation “why did you wanna become famous if it isn’t that much fun for you?”

”I never said it wasn’t fun..just a lot to deal with..” akechi defended

“but why did you wanna become one in the first place...”

akechi’s fist tightened as he held his chopsticks “it’s because my mother always said how if I set my mind to it that I could become whatever I wanted...I told her I wanted to be someone that people look up to like a star in the sky...she laughed at me and told me ‘as long as you work hard enough you can be whatever you want and I’ll make sure to be there to watch you’ she’s dead now...but maybe she’s still there to watch me” a tear rolled down akechi’s cheek

” _wait what am I doing..?_ ” akechi thought to himself “ _why am I telling him this?_ ” akechi couldn’t stop himself as he had already started

ryuji watched as akechi kept speaking not even taking a sip of his ramen

”it’s all because of my father that I’m stuck like this...” akechi placed a hand to his eye and he shook his head “maybe I’m just crazy or maybe but I’m insane but I wanna kill him after all he had done...he let my mother die without even saying one last goodbye to her” akechi’s voice started to stir out of control and he was letting his rage spill over

ryuji placed his hand on akechi’s shoulder

”it’s cool man I feel you, I would’ve killed my dad a long time ago too but if I did my mom would be disappointed in me..seeing her only son go for some petty vendetta then to rise above that and be a better person...maybe that’s what I’ve been missing...wait holy shit that’s it!” ryuji then discovered this new found revelation

”as long as I’m a better person maybe I can show that old bastard what I’m really made of! that’ll show him” ryuji got himself all pumped up

akechi wiped the tear off of his cheek “I see you really are something...”

”well I gotta scram...” ryuji downed the entire bowl of ramen before digging into his pockets and pulling out some cash for both his bowl and akechi’s 

“sorry about me leaving hit I gotta help my mom out, it’s already almost dark and I don’t wanna miss the kinda steak she might make for today”

ryuji almost had forgotten that his mom had bought a piece of meat for a low price today at the butcher’s and that they would eat it together when he got home

”thanks for the talk today man, talk to me when you need to get something off of your chest!” ryuji waved to akechi as he left the ramen shop

akechi waved back and then focused his attention to the ramen bowl

”maybe I got my hopes up thinking that we were the same after all”

* * *

_**Leblanc** _

ren walked inside the cafe as tired as could be after all that he and mishima did in mementos

ren yawned as he stumbled into the door ”sup boss”

“yo, you seem beat again..you around the block a few times or what?” sojiro commented on how tired ren looked

”nah, just a busy day”

ren hustled his way upstairs past sojiro

he made it up to his room and then fell onto his bed

ren rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling

”wonder what morgana is doing..”

” **we still haven’t found anything** ”

”mot even futaba can find him...he couldn’t live by himself could he?” ren said

” **its a cat, and he’s been here a year before you found him so I think he’s capable** ”

”what if he’s in the spaceport”

” **you think he’d show up there?** ”

”gotta he if isn’t gonna come back here, who knows what he might be plotting”

” **well let’s head to bed and we’ll find out tomorrow** ”

ren yawned once more

”way ahead of you” ren flopped under his blanket 

“ **after you change your clothes** ” arsene demanded

”oh right I forgot” ren got back up and quickly changed into his sleep clothes before going to bed

* * *

_**Akechi’s apartment** _

akechi opened the door to his apartment and then turned on the light

”wonder where he went?”

akechi looked around for any trace of the cat

he then nervously looked to his locked room to see it untampered with

he inspected the lock to make sure morgana didn’t try anything funny

”mona!” akechi called out

no response

akechi kept circling around to find no sight of the cat anywhere

after some lore looked around he found morgana sprawled on his couch in the living room

he didn’t wanna wake him up to he gave him a little head rub before leaving him alone

after that he headed over to the locker room and he unlocked it opened it to a closet where only a few things were stored

among those things was a small suitcase

he opened it and then he grabbed a small vial out

”soon...” akechi grinned

akechi then looked over as he felt a pair of eyes watching him

he looked to the living room but he saw nothing

akechi then quickly closed the suitcase but not after putting the vial back in its appropriate spot

right next to a small modified pistol

after putting it back where it was meant to go he closed the closet and then relocked the door

he walked over to see that morgana had shuffled to a more comfortable spot

”good night morgana”

akechi flocked the light off and he headed off to his room

once he closed the door and the coast was 100% clear morgana lifted his head up

”what was that” morgana asked himself


	94. Rage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time I get back on track with certain things

**_Okumura’s Spaceport_ **

”panther on your left!” futaba screamed out

ann looked to her left and she immediately obliterated the shadow that was there

”these things are no joke!” ann said as she recoiled her whip back to her

”sucks we don’t have the extra support but we can manage” shiho kept her distance with the shadows by plunging the tip of her spear into them without needing to get closer

the three had a bunch of shadows coming near them

”oracle! how’re the boys holding up?” ann asked

“they’re perfectly fine“ futaba observed as she saw the two were going through a tear again 

the two were effortlessly going at it as they tore through more robots

mishima was lagging behind what ren was doing but he was at least keeping up so that ren didn’t have to worry over him

even after all the close encounters mishima kept experiencing he was still holding his own

after a bit more battling they cleared out the corridor

ann wiped the sweat off of her head “so we got rid of those guys”

”and we’re making good progress, if we keep going like this we might only have to do this for a few days” futaba hypothesized as she stepped out of her ufo

”good, that means more time to find morgana” ren said as that was important to him

”right, he’s a valuable member of the team” mishima added

”anyways let’s clear everything until the next safe room before we leave” futaba said as she walked ahead 

“i believe there’s a safe room just up ahead, once we go up there we’ll be fine. there shouldn’t be any giant robots asking if we’re a worker or not” futaba mentioned the robot bosses that the group had faced earlier 

“cool. let’s go and see if there is one, I wanna leave” shiho said as she was already exhausted

”you wouldn’t be if you trained, look at admin he’s been doing better” ren looked to mishima who was had at least enough energy for another fight

”I can’t even think to what kind of training you put admin through” shiho remarked as she saw how beat mishima was

being the only other person on the front lines besides ren was tough, especially when you are forced to at least match his speed and agility

“I-it’s fine...I’ll get used to it...” mishima was completely out of it

”no you won’t! you sound like you ran in a marathon” shiho didn’t understand how mishima could tolerate his agony

”I’m fine....” mishima could barely stand to walk

his muscles aches from ren’s grueling training yesterday and it showed a bit too well

”let’s just hurry up and go before anything else happens” ann wanted to get out and secure the next safe room before they got ambushed again

* * *

_**In front of BBB HQ** _

The group reappeared in front of the Big Bang burger headquarters

shiho stretches her arms out into the air “jeez we made a lot of progress but it’s so much harder now that everyone isn’t here”

”they’re still recovering” ren told her

”I know but I wish they were like you in how you hide your injuries” shiho called out ren for hiding his own injuries

ren grumbled as it was a fact that he hid his injuries away

”you hide your injuries ren?” futaba asked curious as she hadn’t heard about this. since she was the newest member overall she had no idea about ren’s habits in the metaverse

”I saw him limp during a few of our trips before, and that time when we went to mementos after we saved futaba you held your back like it hurt for most of the time” shiho was going all in against ren and there wasn’t anything he could really do

”sorry...” ren only replied with one word as he felt guilty for not telling his teammates about it

shiho sighed “jeez” shiho looked to ann” ann keep a tighter leash on him for everyone’s sake please” she then looked to mishima who looked like he’d collapse any second “come on yuuki I’ll help you home” shiho walked over and placed his arm over her shoulders as she helped him walk back to the train station

”thank..you” mishima groaned as he was escorted to the station

the three watched and then they looked to one another with blank stares

”so..ren let’s go home already there’s an anime I wanna binge” futaba was waiting for he final episode of an anime to come out in order for her to watch without breaks

”actually I wanted to go hang some posters around before we go” ren dug into his bag and he pulled out a bunch of small posters

ann took one and she read it out loud

”please help me find my cat, his name is morgana. if found please take him to the leblanc cafe in Yongen-Jaya”

the poster was white with red text and it had a picture of morgana that ren took when he was sleeping one time 

“you think this’ll work?” ann asked

”I at least want to know he’s ok” ren seemed to be very worried about morgana’s safety

”who knows what he might be going through, every minute that passes by might be a time where he’s been suffering. if he doesn’t wanna come back that’s fine..I just want to know that he’s ok” ren was very concerned for morgana and he didn’t mind if he was gone as long as he’s safe

futaba and ann looked at ren as they understood why ren would do something like that this

they saw how kind and hardworking ren was acting right now

”here let me help, I wouldn’t want you to over exhaust yourself again” ann took a pice of the stack

”ooh! let me staple them on!” futaba took a gander at ren’s bag as she was anxious to staple the posters onto any wooden post she could find

”take the tape in there as well if there’s any post that doesn’t staple” ren said as he saw futaba pull out a stapler

“got it!” futaba also pulled out a roll of tape

she then skipped over to ann and she held the tape and stapler playfully “let’s go staple these bad boys” futaba pretended the stapler was a gun and she waved around aiming in and out

ann giggled as she walked along with futaba to any post they could find to put the poster on

” **you really did find some really nice friends** ” arsene commented as he looked on with ren as the duo began to post posters on posts

”yeah...” ren smiled “I’m glad I did...” ren was relived that he didn’t worry about his friends

” **maybe you should take a little break from trying so hard, yes?** ” arsene hopes ren would lay off and he would finally relax for a change without being forced to by a school trip

”I’ll try...” ren replied

” **that’s the best I’ll get huh** ” arsene wasn’t satisfied with the answer but he didn’t mind it as it was a sign of progress

arsene also gazed at ren’s aura

” **still dark...** ”

”hmm?” ren turned to look at him

” **you’re gonna need another stapler** ”

”crap you’re right” ren didn’t anticipate for anyone else to help so he only prepared one stapler for him to use 

arsene sighed but he chuckled after he did so “ **you’re hopeless** ”

* * *

_**Haru’s suite**_

reiko was standing outside of haru’s room as she had just given haru her tea that she requested

she was walking back to the kitchen in order to put back the tray that she had used to carry the tea with

*DING*

reiko stopped in place as she looked at the elevator that people used to go on and out of the suite with

it seemed someone was coming up to the suite

reiko kept a close eye to see who it was

none of haru’s friends were scheduled to come in like the blonde one who got embarrassed easily that came in yesterday

the elevator door opened and a fairly young man with a white suit and a purple undershirt stepped into the suite

”if I recall correctly you are the one that is meant to be marrying the young mistress” reiko concealed her annoyed expression and she wasn’t happy to see sugimura already back into the apartment

”why yes I am miss reiko” sugimura reacted politely

sugimura than turned and walked to where haru’s room was but before he could reiko stopped him

”may I ask what business you have here?” reiko began to question him

sugimura didn’t even try to hide his annoyance “this is something a maid like you shouldn’t be sticking your nose into”

”I believe I can as I am miss haru’s head maid and I’m the one who was told to do so by Hana Okumura” reiko said calmly

sugimura turned around to face reiko “I don’t see a purpose in bringing up Kunikazu’s dead wife in this, she has no purpose in being brought up in this conversation” sugimura said venomously as he didn’t want to be critiqued by a maid of all people

”please do not freely use mr okumura’s name like and in that kind of tone ever again” reiko didn’t like hearing their names put in that kind of mean spirited tone even if she knew how bad mr. okumura was 

“like I care and even then this is only between me and miss haru, not some dead woman” sugimura didn’t care about insulting haru’s mother name around like that 

”I believe I do have a right to bring her up as if she were still alive she would never approve of this relationship” reiko spoke for haru’s dead mother 

“if she was alive yet she’s dead and forgotten” sugimura arrogantly exclaimed as this was the the only time she was ever brought up in conversation besides when his father and okumura spoke about her once in conversation

”if she was truly forgotten than how come mr. okumura refuses to remarry or get a mistress?” reiko knew that even though she was long dead that mr. okumura still loved and respected his wife enough to not get a mistress

”that’s because an old man like him can’t have fun anymore, he’s too focused with how much power he possesses and how careful he’ll need to be with it. a smart man like that wouldn’t care about women” sugimura brushed off reiko’s words as they meant nothing to him

”so you hold mr. okumura in at least that kind of respect” reiko could commend sugimura for that sliver of good in him

”with a man like that there’s nothing stopping him, he could have as many mistresses as he wants yet he wouldn’t care” sugimura walked over to haru’s room as he was tired of the conversation and he just wanted to do what he was going to do

”a foolish man like you wouldn’t understand even half of what that man has done without doing twice as much of the horrid things” reiko was able to get out before sugimura scoffed and began to knock on the door

* * *

*knock* *knock*

haru was reading a book while drinking the tea she had on her night stand

”come in!” haru assumes reiko was back to maybe give her some biscuits or something small like that

the door opened and sugimura walked in and began examining the room

”a very cute room for someone to mask their true selves in...” sugimura walked around with his hands behind his back

”sugimura-kun!?” haru was not expecting sugimura to come to her house, let alone her own room

haru put down her book and she stared to see what sugimura would do

“I came here as I heard from your father that you injured yourself” sugimura eventually walked close enough to where he stood above haru

”eh!” haru let out a small yelp as sugimura pinned one of her arms to the wall behind her while his other hand sellout caressed her chin

”oh haru...you really are a mean person..forcing me to stand around here like a fool while you hang out with other boys...”

haru closed her eyes and moved her head away from him as she didn’t want to look into sugimura’s eyes

sugimura didn’t like this rebellious spirit of haru’s so he decided he’d put that little fire of hers out

sugimura than went from caressing her chin gently to forcibly grabbing her chin and cheeks so that she would be forced to look straight at his face

sugimura stood there as she watched haru nearly break into tears right in front of his eyes

he could feel her breath and heartbeat become erratic as she didn’t know what to do in the situation

sugimura let out a small chuckle before letting go of her face after giving her a light slap

”you really are a dirty whore, how many boys have you let yourself go to? hmm?”

haru was near her limit and she was close to breaking into tears

”answer me bitch!” sugimura slammed his hand against the wall next to haru’s head

haru saw just how enraged sugimura was

“just how long are you gonna make me wait before I can have some fun too?”

haru was silent

she couldn’t say a word as her body was paralyzed out of fear to do so

”well I might as well get my fill in now since I’m here before more people touch your filthy body” sugimura rubbed her lips before making his way down to her buttoned shirt 

”s-stop.....” haru quietly let out

”eh?” sugimura was included by the back talk

”I said to s-stop.....” haru had tears in her eyes

sugimura laughed ”what are you going to do? your dad said I can whatever I want with you...I don’t see why I can’t indulge in that after all you aren’t a pure maiden anymore”

”that’s a lie!” haru started to fight back by letting her voice take over sugimura’s

”like someone as young and dumb like you would understand” sugimura was not scared by haru’s sudden uproar

he still began to attempt to unbutton her shirt

”I said to stop!!” haru kicked sugimura away from her

sugimura fell back into the he floor

after regaining his composure he got back up and patted the dust off of his white suit

”fine then, be like that” sugimura gave haru a cold stare “you’ll still be forced to marry me whether you like it or not, and it doesn’t matter what you try to say or do...I always get what I want”

”by the time the month ends your father will have sold you off to me so consider your last moments before you are rightfully one without any objections”

sugimura turned around and began to walk out of haru’s room while haru sat there speechless

she then curled up into a ball but not before reaching for her phone and texting the group

* * *

_**Ann’s room** _

[H: we have a deadline now]

[H: it’s the end of the month]

[H: I’m sorry]

[Ry: what happened?]

[H: he tried to]

haru didn’t try to finish the message

[H: I cant]

[Y: it’s ok you can tell when you’re able to]

[Ma: we’ll be here when you need us]

[H: thank you]

ann read those messages in her phone as she immediately tried to think about what happened to haru

”sugimura must’ve done something bad to her”

she thought about what a man like him could’ve done

she remembered what he tried to do the first time around when haru told her about it

ann sighed and she stared out of the window as she thought about ren

there was no way ren was talking this easily

she knew ren would’ve responded negatively to this

”I have to hope he isn’t trying to do anything stupid” ann said

she then went into her contacts and began to ring ren’s number

[hello?]

”I’m guessing you saw what haru had sent”

[yeah....I feel bad]

”are we...going into the spaceport tomorrow? we have a few weeks left if the deadlines by the end of the month but I wanna know if we’re still going or not”

[of course we are, we can’t sit back anymore]

”hey ren...”

[yeah?]

”don’t do anything stupid ok?”

[i won’t]

”promise me...that you won’t do anything stupid ok?”

[i promise that I won’t do anything stupid]

”you swear on it?” ann wasn’t sure if ren was being honest or not

[i swear on it. I won’t make you worry over me]

”thank you...”

[well I’m gonna go back around and see if I can spread the missing posters around]

ann giggled as she started to joke around with ren “you already broke the promise”

[no i didn’t!? I’m just doing what I normally do]

”I know, I know I’m just joking”

[hmph! anyways I’m going to go hang the posters up] 

”I love you” ann said with sincerity

[i love you too, bye]

ann hung up him and she fell over her bed

”I hope he’s being honest.....”

* * *

_**Leblanc** _

ren wore sweatpants and a hoodie as he began to leave leblanc

”I’m gonna go exercise for a bit so don’t worry about me not being here to close, you can lock the door if I don’t come back in time” ren told sojiro

”what’re you going to do? live at the gym?” sojiro remarked

”haha very funny” ren replied sarcastically “I’ll be back”

ren left the cafe and he began to go to the train station 

“ **hey ren...where are the missing posters** ”

”there are none left”

” **then why did you lied to ann..?** ”

”...”

” **oh no....** ”

ren wasn’t calm one bit

his demeanor was just a facade so that sojiro wouldn’t question him

* * *

_**Spaceport** _

ren spawned into the spaceport and he put away his phone once he started to walk around

before ren could leave the starting area arsene floated in front of his face

arsene wanted to stop ren before he started to in

”what are you doing?” ren stared at arsene coldly as he didn’t want to waste time just to chit chat

” **ren I have an idea** ”

”what?” ren didn’t want to be criticized by arsene so he was prepared to ignore him

” **put me in solitary confinement, if you wanna train try to go through the palace without me around** ”

”that’s sounds.....interesting” ren’s face was emotions less but he was intrigued nonetheless

even thought red didn’t show his true feelings arsene easily saw through him as he could just look into his aura and his true feelings

”what are you staring at me for?” ren saw that arsene was looking at him intently for some odd reason

” **nothing..** ” 

“come on we have no time to waste” ren walked straight through arsene and towards the blue jail cell door cage

ren didn’t hesitate as he opened it

once opened ren walked inside as he began to reappear into the velvet room

* * *

_**Velvet room** _

ren spawned inside with his prison jumpsuit

caroline noticed ren and she looked at him while tapping her baton on the tip of her shoe ”so then inmate what is it this time?” 

“well I was wondering if you guys can put arsene into solitary confinement again” ren said nonchalantly

”you wish to put your persona in solitary confinement once more?” justine asked 

” **yep put me in there you two** ” arsene wished to be put into solitary confinement which confused the twins

”you wish to be put in such a place?” caroline asked a little weirded out that someone would ask for pain

” **yep, put me in there** ” arsene’s voice didn’t waver and there was no sign that he would back down

the twins looked at eachother as they didn’t understand why someone would ask for such treatment

”you are strange for wishing for such harm but we cannot deny your request” justine said as she began to open up the separate cell

”if you don’t mind me asking but why again?” caroline was curious to the reasoning

” **I suggested that if ren would want to get stronger that he should go without me** ”

”yeah if we wanna enhance my training I should probably go through the palace without arsene, maybe that will help me get stronger”

”true, having a strong persona like arsene could enhance one’s own strength and power” caroline saw the reasoning

”well the cell is ready for his solitary confinement” justine announced

”well I’ll leave him to you two” ren turned away and he walked out of the velvet room as he didn’t want to waste any more time if it wasn’t going throw the palace

”I’ll make sure to pick you up after my spelunking!” ren said as he laid down in his bed and disappeared

”now then let’s stick you into solitary confinement” caroline said as she began to drag arsene’s spirit into the cell

” **wait wait! I have a few questions for you two** ” arsene said before he was stuck into the cell

”and that is?” caroline replied very annoyed to the delay

” **you see it as well don’t you?** ” arsene said aloud to the two

the twins looked at eachother in confusion

”see what exactly?” justine asked as she didn’t know what arsene was talking about

“ **that dark aura I keep seeing on him** ” arsene wanted to know what the twins thought about it

for some reason it was always there for all long as arsene could remember and it usually grew and waned

arsene thought it was maybe just his own eyes messing with him but recently this ‘dark aura’ only grew in size and it wasn’t showing signs of stopping

maybe the stress of knowing about akechi’s presence in Tokyo was starting to make it grow or maybe it was the trouble in keeping all of his secrets

whatever it was arsene couldn’t pinpoint for the life of him as he didn’t know for sure if all of these factors had a direct cause to the dark aura

all he knew is that if arsene didn’t do something that it would keep growing

but the catch about that was...

ren never listened to arsene unless it went with what we was doing

arsene had seen this pattern since even before ren came to Tokyo but it’s been getting worae

maybe that was apart of it?

“this dark aura...” caroline looked over to justine ask the two locked eyes before looming back up to arsene

”we are afraid to say that we don’t have the answer that you are looking for” justine gently broke the news to arsene

”we’ve been trying to figure that ourselves but you see...” caroline added

”neither the inmate wishes to speak about it and whatever is in control completely out of our power it seems”

” **so Im out of options and I should just ride the the storm out is what you’re saying** ”

”we’re not saying to do that specifically but we don’t know how to help you, we have no control over what the inmate does outside of the velvet room” justine told arsene

” **I know you guys really have no power in what ren does outside of the velvet room but you have to have at least some knowledge in what is going on with him** ” arsene wanted to at least know something that might help him

”sadly we hold no info on that matter” caroline told arsene

” **so I do have to ride the storm huh** ” arsene has no other leads to go off from

”perhaps I can lend a voice to help you in this time of need” igor spoke up after being silent for the duration of the conversation

arsene immediately flew over to igor’s desk

” **you know what to do?** ” arsene asked desperate for information on ren’s situation

”if what you say is true then the trickster is having some issues”

” **yeah. what should I do about it?** ” 

“have you thought about if it is you who is impeding on the trickster’s progress?” igor suggested to arsene

” **you’re saying that I’m the reason ren is suffering right now?** ” arsene didn’t see the reasoning to why he would be the main cause to ren’s dark aura

”perhaps, it is only a thought but have you thought that you might be the main cause in hindering the trickster’s abilities” 

“ **ok but how am I the reason for the dark aura** ” arsene didn’t see how he was the cause for it

”it could be that your interference in the trickster’s life may be taking a toll on him, this ‘dark aura’ you speak of has only been worsening right?”

” **y-yeah? but am I really the cause for it?** ” arsene still didn’t see how he could be the reason for it

”I believe that it is just if you stray farther away from the trickster’s life and his engagements. if this continues you will be the sole reason in why the trickster will fail and if he does ruin will take over” igor warned arsene

” **ruin..? you know you keep speaking about ruin but it’s been over a year since you brought it up are you sure it’s even coming?** ” arsene kept hearing that ruin was coming when Igor spoke to ren but arsene was starting to have his doubts

”do not doubt our master!” caroline was offended that arsene accused igor of such an act

”patience...it’s what one should have during these events. never believe that it won’t come but believe that you must always be ready for when it finally does, who knows what might happen” igor tried to influence arsene

” **fine...** ” arsene sat down in front of igor’s desk “ **so I should stay here and wait until ren comes back?** ”

”I believe that is best” Igor suggested for arsene to lay back and let ren do all the work

”what about your solitary confinement!?” caroline yelled at arsene

” **not going in there, I’ll just sit here for a while until he comes back** ”

”so be it” caroline let arsene sit outside of solitary confinement

still even thought igor told arsene that ren would be fine on his own he had his doubts

theres no way he would be at fault for ren’s suffering

after all he helped ren as much as he could

but if there was something that irked arsene at this time

it was ren’s sudden outbursts of rage and anger that arsene would usually quell

theres no mistake that arsene was needed in ren’s life 

but he’d find out what would happen if his anger wasn’t in check soon enough

* * *

**_Deep into the spaceport_ **

ren was all alone as he ran around the palace taking out big shadows along the way

he could feel that the treasure was nearer and nearer

eventually ren walked into a factory like area where he learned about the horrors of okumura foods treatment of their employees

how they would get barely any time if not no time at all for breaks

this info only seemed to piss ren off even more

eventually ren saw a certain figure in the distance lecturing some small robots

”remember if any of those thieves come make sure to not let any of them go away unharmed”

okumura’s shadow was speaking to the robots

”OKUMURA!” ren yelled as he ran towards okumura’s shadow

”so you came alone it seems” okumura noticed that ren only came alone and he chuckled at himself “you really are persistent if you wish to pursue me without anyone else”

”I’m going to take you down!” ren pulled out his pistol and dagger

”men! take him out”

okumura turned around and he began to leave the area

*BANG*

a bullet whizzed past his head

okumura jolted in his chair as the bullet was near millimeters away from piercing him

”you’re not going anywhere!” ren said while still aiming at his head

”kill him!” okumura ordered as he pressed a button on his chair that summoned more robots

the robots began to surround ren

”get him beep!” one robot said 

“dispose of him!” another said

”it’s what the boss wants beep!” another also said

they all began to jump ren

”DON’T UNDERESTIMATE ME!!” ren summoned two personas and let out an onslaught of psy spells all around the room

” **show no mercy...** ” a voice in ren’s head started to speak to ren ” **make sure they understand fear** ”

”AAAAAAA!!” ren began to scream as he slashed through robots

”more! I need more!” okumura kept pressing the button to summon more robot as he began to flee the area

more robots began to appear and surround ren

” **leave no one standing** ” the voice told ren

ren kept rolling through more robots as he kept screaming in pain

ren held his head in between slashes as his head was pounding from what he thought was the voice

“ **he is attempting to escape...make sure he doesn’t leave with his life** ” the voice ordered

ren kept clearing lore and more robots as his stamina tanked 

ren was already exhausted but for some reason he kept going

ren eventually cleared all the robots as their machine parts littered the room

ren was on the floor gasping for air as sweat poured off of his head

”what...” ren was only able to let one single word escape from his mouth

ren then held his head in pain

” **CHASE HIM, MAKE SURE HE DOESN’T ESCAPE!** ” the voice screamed at ren

ren slowly stood up and he began to chase after okumura’s shadow even though he was already exhausted from the battle

* * *

_**Leblanc** _

sojiro finished cleaning the counter

once he looked at the time he looked at the front door

”still not here huh kid” sojiro shook his head

”he said he’d come back late but this late?” sojiro looked at how much time had passed since ren left

“I shouldn’t be worried he has the key to this place anyways” 

sojiro hung up his apron before getting his jacket and turning off the lights of the cafe

”pretty reckless of him to be home late but he’s a man and I’m not his father”

sojiro put on his hat before locking the door of leblanc and going back home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tooting my own horn here but I think I have a knack for turning my mistakes in my storytelling into something that’s usable


	95. Encounters and effects

**_Akechi’s apartment_ **

morgana was standing in front of the pad locked closet

it was morning time and akechi left a few minutes prior to go to the police station so he was completely free until he came back in the afternoon

morgana then jumped up onto the lock to inspect it closely

the lock wasn’t like the one he opened back at madarame’s shack with a you needing a key to open it but it was a combination padlock with a dial

”if I remember from when he tried to open it the code...”

morgana struggles to move the dial but he got them in after a few tries

”7......15......crap what was the last one?”

morgana wasn’t completely sure about the last number but he knew the range of it so all he could do was guess but he had a way higher chance to open it

”16...”

*CLICK*

the lock made a clicking noise as it unlocked itself from trying to support the weight of morgana 

morgana nearly fell back down onto the floor as he started to sway around frantically in the air while desperately holding onto the lock

after some more struggling morgana got the lock off and he gently set it down onto the floor

”there we go”

morhana wiped the sweat off of his fur

morgana looked up to the now opened closet

”I need to be careful, he inspects this place pretty often”

although morgana liked akechi there was something off about him that he didn’t trust

he's heard of the interviews where he’s bashed the phantom thieves but to think he had access to the metaverse was a little concerning

”but maybe he accidentally entered in when we entered into the spaceport” morgana thought 

morgana sighed “sloppy as always”

morgana couldn’t afford to think of random thoughts that weren’t significant to him

as right now the most important thing that he needed to do was to find out what was in the briefcase

the closet was easily climbable for a cat due to its shelves being easy to climb at morgana’s size

he started to eye each of the shelves to see what was in them

there weren’t many shelves as there was a huge gap from the floor to the first shelf

this was probably a shoe closet or a pantry that’s was repurposed into some sort of storage area

kinda strange but for someone who is paranoid like akechi but it would make sense to do something as odd as this

regardless of that thought there was nothing between the floor and the first shelf and the gap wasn’t wide enough for morgana to not climb up on

morgama moved his eyes upwards

the first shelf had a few stacks of paper on them

the next one had some documents and tape recorders

”why would he have tape recorders?” morgana asked himself

the third shelf was empty and had nothing in it 

and finally the fourth shelf that contained the briefcase was up there

an easy climb for morgana and there was nothing in the way

morgana began his climb

he went past the two shelves without much hassle and he climbed up to the third before finally reaching to the fourth shelf

the shelf only contained the briefcase

there was no way morgana was carrying such a big briefcase down to the floor with him so it was best that he opened it from the fourth shelf

morgana lifted the latches and he saw what was inside

the briefcase was a jumbled mess

pretty sloppy for a prince detective’s standards

the first things that immediately caught morgana’s attention was a standard pistol that looked like it had been modified 

but not modified in a good way...it seemed like it was rigged to fail in some sort of way but morgana couldn’t be sure of it

maybe he was overthinking it all and it really was just a normal gun 

the other gun however was anything but normal

morgana had a real hard time trying to figure out if it even was a gun because of how odd it was

it was smaller than the other pistol and it didn’t look like it could use real bullets

it looked like it had to use some sort of special kind of ammo but morgana didn’t know what that type of ammo that could be

morgana also saw some type of lotion or cream that was definitely made in a lab or homegrown in some way but it definitely wasn’t a normal ordinary store brand lotion

next to those two guns and lotion were a bunch of vials that had their own case to carry them in and a small syringe that’s was also filled with the same substance to go with them

each of the vials were filled with some kind of liquid along with the syringe itself

morgana reached out to get a closer look at them

*KNOCK* *KNOCK*

”hello! akechi-san!?” a voice said from the outside as they began to knock onto the door

the sudden knocking on the door startled morgana and out of reflex he thrusted his paw forward into something

”OW!!” morgana let out a big yelp as he had accidentally poked himself with the syringe

“I didn’t know akechi-san had a cat? did he know I hate cats and that’s why he got one!? I’ll make sure we’re on good terms!” the voice said as he stomped off away from the front door

”i think i know who that is...” morgana said seeing as the person’s hatred of cats could’ve been ren’s father

”anyways what is even in this stuff?” morgana examined his paw to see the small barely noticeable stab wound

he saw that a little bit of whatever was in the syringe was forced into morgana when he thrusted his paw forward

”I can focus on that later, I need to put all of this back in order”

morgana tried to put everything back just as he found it and he tried to make it so that there was no trace of his presence anywhere in the closet

after he made sure there was nothing of him left in there he closed the door and miraculously put the lock back into the door after many, many attempts 

after doing so he wiped the sweat off of his fur once more and then he examined his paw

”looks like it’ll be nothing”

” _you’re such a useless cat aren’t you..._ ” a voice that sounded like ren’s passed by morgana

”huh?” morgana was alarmed by the sudden voice but he saw no trace of such anybody around him

”must be the wind...” morgana went back to doing mindless cat things around the apartment and he paid no attention to anything else

* * *

_**School** _

ann was sitting at her desk during a lecture but she was ignoring it as she had more important things to attend to

it felt quiet not having ren behind her to constantly play with her hair in the middle of class

this was no coincidence as she called ren to find out that he went out again to put up more missing posters

he must’ve done something that made him not come to school

she then started to think about all the possibilities that ren might’ve fallen into

he could’ve been kidnapped by another drug lord kingpin like with what happened with kaneshiro

the thoughts kept swirling around in Ann’s head and she slowly started to panic on the inside

” _there’s no way ren could let that happen he’s not an idiot_ ” ann thought to herself

she didn’t know for sure but she had to double check

under her desk she had her phone out and opened as she texted the thieves chat

[A: have any of you guys seen ren?]

[Ry: I thought he was with you?]

[A: he wasn’t with me]

[S: he wasn’t with me either]

[Ry: I didn’t see him anywhere and I came in late]

[A: I think he may have done something stupid]

[F: want me to track his phone?]

[Y: that might be an invasion of privacy]

[F: shut it inari]

[F: doing it anyways]

ann put away her phone as she waited for the notification for when futaba went to ping ren’s phone

* * *

some more time passed and futaba finally responded to the chat

luckily it was also when break started and ann could finally respond to the chat without needing to hide it from the teacher

she headed up towards the roof and she pushed through the door

when he entered the roof she saw that everyone was present on the rooftops and they were already beginning to chat

”so what’s this about ren not coming to school?” makoto sat at a chair that was located on the roof

“yeah...I don’t understand why he isn’t here it’s not like him to skip....besides the assembly that one time” mishima tried to think why ren wouldn’t show up

”if he was he should’ve told me I would e done it with him” ryuji wouldn’t have minded if he left school right now

”if your grades were like ren’s you would have a lighter punishment” makoto jeered

”yeah yeah whatever” ryuji muttered as he kicked the floor

”he definitely passed out, it’s probably nothing serious if ann is the one to start the conversation” shiho said as she was already waiting for Ann’s overreaction

”you never know, ren is the type to do something like that” haru let shiho know of her own thoughts

”true” shiho agreed with haru on that front

makoto saw ann enter into the rooftops ”well now that everyone here let’s get down to actual business”

everyone stopped talking to eachother and they focused onto makoto

”as we know ren is missing and I wouldn’t be as worried as now because...” makoto stopped talking which added to the suspense

[he ain’t here!] futaba voice said through makoto’s phone as makoto held it up

makoto sighed “futaba made me do this” futaba wanted to announce it for personal reasons

”why is that a good thing?” mishima was confused to why futaba was acting all cheerful

[i dunno I can’t find his phone anywhere in Tokyo so I guess he’s in mementos or the palace]

”you say that like it’s normal!?” mishima being the only member of the phantom thieves who was kept in the dark about most of the events that had taken place in these few months particularly with ren

”that’s because it is...” ann gloomed over this particular topic “none of us know what ren is trying to fight against”

”did you guys not ask him?” mishima asked as he looked around for answers

[ren puts it off no matter what we say or do] futaba could be heard loudly slurping on some ramen

”pretty much, no matter what we do we always get the ‘ren treatment’ and then he never tells us“ ryuji said casually wondering what ren did this time

”even ann has trouble dealing with him but she’s the only one who has had better luck than any of us” shiho glanced towards ann after a huge sigh

“so...it’s normal for you guys huh?” mishima said

[you get used to it, even though I’m the newest member I’ve seen some of the thing s he’s done]

”anyways after school we’re going on a hunt through the palace for ren” makoto announced

”do all of you treat this like normal!?” mishima didn’t understand how no one could get through ren

”why don’t you ask him then? I give you at least 3 attempts to force it out of him” ryuji placed his bet on mishima to break ren’s cold hard stubbornness

”I’ll give him 2” shiho betted against ryuji

”it took me 2 to break it, I’ll give you 4” even ann placed her bet in

mishima tightened his fist as this only gave him more confidence to figure things out

* * *

_**Big Bang Burger HQ** _

”so are you sure I should come here even though I am still considered injured?” yusuke asked as he was only now informed about what had happened

the group had all arrived to the hq and they only told yusuke to come there so they could brief him in about the situation

”you’re he least injured out of all of us and besides I’m fine enough that my bruises don’t hurt” ryuji didn’t see any reason to not go

”I guess that makes sense”

”well then there’s nothing else holding us down is there?” makoto looked around for any objections

no one had anything to say

”then we’re good to go, futaba you can hit it”

”in t minus...3...2...” futaba put a countdown before she pressed he button for them to go into the metaverse

”just hit it” ryuji got impatient bu how slow futaba was taking to press it

futaba groaned “you’re not fun”

futaba pressed the button and they began to warp into the spaceport

* * *

_**Spaceport** _

”so then crow, what are we doing now?” morgana asked as he searched around the area

”don’t know myself, let’s see what we can find around here” akechi looked around and he started to examine the place

” _someone’s been here_ ” akechi thought to himself

”let’s keep going, who knows what we might find” morgana said as he kept going

the two wandered along the place to see the more factory like interior around the place 

there were pulleys and all sorts of machinery bustling around non stop

they eventually made it onto a safe platform that led into another area but before they could they saw a bunch of black dust spots and dents in the surroundings

”someone’s definitely been blowing up around here” akechi observed as he used his detective skills to pinpoint exactly what had happened 

“I think I know who came around here”

”you do?” akechi asked curious to who it was

”this is definitely ren’s- I mean my former leader’s doing, only someone like him could let off so many attacks in this kind of formation along with leaving all these dents around the place” morgana had been making his own observations and inferences

“so this leader is pretty good at this kinda stuff huh?” akechi said as he was still undermining morgana

“he was, he’s been great at being a leader but I don’t know why he’s so insecure about telling people who he was..” morgana sounded worried about ren and how he was holding up

”you still sound worried about him”

”I’m not! that traitor is the one who backstabbed me the most!” morgana yelled back to akechi

”anyways let’s keep going there’s no sign of shadows anywhere in these parts” akechi assessed

”they should’ve come back as of now, I wonder why they haven’t yet” morgana wondered

the two kept treading forward in the desolate spaceport as they saw nothing pop up to attack them 

they eventually headed towards another area that was again empty and barren except there was something there in the ground

the two slowly and carefully approached the figure as they didn’t know if it was an enemy or if it was a part of okumura’s cognition

the figure groaned as it laid on the ground

the two ended up being near enough to identify who it was

”wait I know who this is” morgana said as he lifted the figure’s arm

akechi also got a closer look and he got a very good glimpse at who it was

it was ren passed out in the floor

he seems to have collapsed out of exhaustion that seemed to be out of his control, at least from what akechi could deduce from him

something was wrong with ren

akechi reached out and felt his head

” _something’s oddly familiar about this...._ ”

”help.....” ren started to groan and he kept trying to breath 

he seemed to be having trouble trying to keep himself together 

“are you assessing what happened to him with your detective skills?” morgana assumed akechi would be using his abilities to deduce ren’s state of being

”yeah..but all I can pinpoint down is that he’s over exhausted himself and there’s some kind of issue with his brain” akechi was surpassingly actually assessing ren’s body

”his brain?” morgana was interested to what akechi was trying to talk about

”I feel like there’s something trying to corrupt his mind” akechi gave a bold assumption but to him it wasn’t an assumption

” _wait why am I doing this?_ ” akechi asked himself in his mind to why he was concerned for ren

morgana’s ears and tail perked up as he heard voices and footsteps coming towards the two

”crow! there’s people on our 6!” morgana pulled out his cutlass as he thought a bunch of shadows were trying to ambush them

akechi stood back up and he regroup on morgana

he then got a real good look as the group came closer and closer to them

akechi then realized who they were

it was the other phantom thieves who were walking towards them

akechi looked back to ren’s exhausted body and he put two and two together

maybe they were looking for ren because ren probably went into the palace by himself

”it’s the others, good..come on crow let’s show em what we can do-“

akechi didn’t want to found out so soon so he decided the best course of action was to grab morgana by his head and then disappear up onto one of the pipes on the ceiling

morgana struggled as he tried to get akechi’s hand off of his mouth

akechi wanted to make sure that the group wouldn’t notice them and he knew morgana would try to use this as an opportunity to be arrogant and boastful

”shhhh! we don’t wanna let them know we were here” akechi tried to shush morgana

”wait is that joker?” akechi saw as what he assumed was ryuji run up to ren

he saw as the others immediately piled onto him trying to wake him up

”joker!” ann screamed out

”wake up man!” ryuji tried to shake ren’s lifeless body

“he’s completely drained” haru pointed out

”let’s get him out of here who knows how long he’s been in here” makoto ordered as she attempted to lift him up by his shoulder 

”let me help you there” ryuji ran by her side and he helped lift ren’s other shoulder

”everyone else make sure there are no shadows coming to attack us”

”I’ll go ahead and clear the path in case” mishima took out his sword and he went ahead of the group

“alright let’s move” makoto said as she and ryuji began to move ren’s body out of the palace

the footsteps slowly began to fade out but eventually they did and akechi was all set and clear to come down to the ground

he also let morgana out of his grip so that he could breathe

morgana took a few breaths before turning around and kicking akechi in the shin

akechi roiled his leg as those kicks weren’t held back in he slightest

”what do you think you’re doing!? I almost passed out!!” morgana was understandably angry at akechi

”I didn’t want them to notice us and if they saw us and their leader on the ground they’d assume we were the ones who did this to him” akechi tried to be reasonable 

“still we could’ve used it as a revenge ploy!” morgana screamed

”a revenge ploy..?” akechi didn’t understand what morgana was getting at

”we could’ve stood there like ‘muhahaha we have taken him hostage and now you must make me, morgana the new leader of the phantom thieves’ and then they’d be like ‘oh we’re sorry for doubting you morgana’ and then I’d finally get respected as a phantom thief and not as some getaway vehicle!” 

akechi stood there surprised by morgana’s entire spiel

” _this cat is absolutely nuts!_ ” akechi thought to himself

”anyways it doesn’t matter we’ll get a chance to show ren and the gang how strong we really are” morgana spoke without hesitation

”so is this where we should stop?” akechi asked

”seems so, nothing in here anyways and besides we’re close to the treasure so maybe another day or two and they should send out the calling card” morgana walked off

morgana walked ahead of akechi while akechi stood there pondering to himself

”he was right there and yet I wasn’t prepared..I don’t even have the thing loaded anyways so it wouldn’t have mattered...oh well if it doesn’t work I’ll do it the harder way” akechi looked at his sword which reflected his own cynical smile

”crow! hurry up!” morgana screamed at him to hurry it along

akechi sheathed his sword again and he jogged back to morgana’s side

* * *

_**Akechi’s apartment** _

akechi was back home and at his kitchen cooking something for himself and a little extra for morgana

morgana was just chilling out on the couch wagging his tail back and forth

” _all you do is mess up_ ” a voice that sounded like ann’s went through morgana’s head

”what’s wrong?” akechi asked as he saw morgana’s head bolt up and start looking around

“nothing I just thought I heard something...”  morgana was standing up now and he was looking all around

”what are you hearing voices now” akechi laughed at his own quip 

“maybe I’m just a little crazy heh” morgana sat back down as he didn’t know where any of this was coming from

he then gazed at the paw that was stabbed by the syringe

“hmm...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I plan to end the okumura arc at chap 100(I mean the fight, that’ll be the topic for that chapter) I’m not totally sure if i will end the okumura arc by the time I reach chapter 100
> 
> I’ll see if I can though I don’t wanna extend it too long if I don’t have to


	96. 1 step forward 2 steps backwards

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe I’ll do the okumura fight earlier than I expected it to take
> 
> Oh well doesn’t change much for me

_**?????????** _

ren’s eyes were not opened but he could still hear and sense things

” _my head hurts....where am I..?_ ”

ren opened his eyes and he started to look around the place

” _is this...another nightmare..?_ ” ren asked himself

ren slowly got up and he began to look around

he was in complete and total darkness

he carefully walked around as he didn’t know where he was going

”hello..?” ren called out

no response

”you really gonna do us like that huh ren?” ryuji’s voice appeared from behind ren

ren turned around to see ryuji with a disappointed and irate expression

”ryuji..?” ren was confused by what ryuji was talking about

”I trusted you dude just to find out that you were just some big traitorous asshole. screw you!” ryuji turned away and walked away from ren

”ryuji wait what are you taking about!?” ren attempted to chase after him but he couldn’t run fast enough towards him

ryuji disappeared into the darkness

”how deplorable of you ren” yusuke appeared to the left of ren

”I thought you were someone I looked up to, I wanted to be like you! and now you’re some guy who doesn’t care for anyone!” mishima cried out to the right of ren

”all of my kindness for you ren was for nothing and now all I’m left with is sadness. how could you” haru appeared behind ren

”I tried to help you with ann and this is what happens? you are some scumbag” shiho appeared where ryuji stood as soon as ren turned away

”wait guys what are you talking about!?” ren didn’t understand what was going on and he was starting to get stressed out from all of this

”it’s too late to say sorry” yusuke shook his head

”how can I even look at you the same” mishima didn’t even wanna look at ren

”unforgivable” haru didn’t face ren’s direction

”I can’t believe you’d do something like that” shiho crossed her arms

they all turned away and began to walk away from ren

”wait guys what are you talking about!? tell me!!” ren cried out as he tried to reach out to everyone to no avail

ren tried to chase after someone but no matter how fast he tried to run he could never catch up to anyone of them

ren stopped and caught his breath as he was winded from sprinting at them

some crying was heard behind ren

ren slowly turned around to see futaba crying “how could you, ren this ain’t what I wanted to know from you I can’t believe you did such awful things”

”futaba! what are you talking about!”

”that is enough out you, you did all of these things to all of us without any of us knowing. you really are just a monster” makoto scolded and belittled ren

ren turned around to look at makoto

”makoto let’s not be rash. what did I do wrong?” ren asked trying his hardest to get an answer of any kind

”leave us alone!” futaba cried out

”with what you’ve done I don’t wanna hear it”

both makoto an futaba soon faded into the darkness

ren was completely stressed out from the situation

”what is going on?” ren frantically looked around for who else would pop up

”maybe leaving the group was the best decision I ever made” morgana spawned in front of ren

”morgana!?”

”you’re no hero, you’re just a villain”

morgana disappeared from his sight

ren‘s heart was pounding from running and from trying to handle the stress of everyone rejecting ren

”wait if I only saw my friends then where’s..” ren saw that there was one member of the phantom thieves who was missing

”ren...” ann's appeared from behind ren

ren gulped and he slowly moved his head towards ann

”I saw you as someone who didn’t care about what people thought about him, when you saved my life I thought there was no way I could make it up to you and then you asked me to be your girlfriend..I was so happy and relieved that I couldn’t say no”

ann looked directly into ren’s eyes “but I can’t believe you’re the same ren that did all of those things for everyone just to reveal how much of a monster you were”

”ann wait what..what are you talking about” ren tried to come closer to ann

ren was shaking terribly from fear

”I’m sorry ren, but this isn’t going to work about anymore” ann began to turn away but not without glancing at ren one more time

”it’s over between us, good bye ren”

ann began to walk away while ren tried his hardest to catch up to her

”ann! wait!”

ren tried to chase after her but he tripped on himself and he fell to the ground

he still tried to reach out to ann while he laid on the floor

”don’t leave me...please!” ren desperately yelled out as tears started to come out of his eyes

ann slowly faded away and ren began to sob as he smashed his hand into the ground

”face it ren, you were destined to fail”

ren looked up to see akechi standing above him

”there’s no point in fixing something if you’re only going to make it worse” 

“like I should take that from you!” ren responded with anger as he shot upwards to grab akechi’s shirt

”look at yourself. lonely, distant and easy to break” akechi made fun of ren whilst keeping his cold stare up “it’s because of you that your friends abandoned you..but I mean it makes sense” akechi freed himself from ren’s grip and he began to walk away from ren

”it’s what you deserve after abandoning me a long time ago”

akechi pulled out a pistol from thin air

”now die like how you were meant to”

akechi pulled he trigger

* * *

_**Leblanc** _

ren opened his eyes

his head still hurt like hell and his body get like it went through the wringer with the amount of exhaustion

his heart was also beating very erratically and his breathing was fast and heavy 

ren reach up and he felt his head to see if there was anything wrong with it

” _I can’t remember what happened..._ ”  ren could barely remember whatever happened last night 

all he could remember was that terrible nightmare and that he was heading out of leblanc

and now for some reason he was in bed

”oh he lives once more” futaba poked her head into ren’s sight lines

”futaba?” ren was fully sat up and look straight at futaba “you’re alive?” 

futaba was confused by what ren was saying ”yes...I am futaba..you’re sister..ooh. I am now a ghost and I’ve come back to haunt you ohhhooo” futaba pretended to be a ghost for a quick laugh

”that’s not....anyways how did I get here?”

”you slept in the palace and we carried you all the way here” futaba revealed to him

”where is everyone?” ren put in his glasses

“hold up I’m gonna go get them!” 

she stood up and ran off 

”you guys ren’s awake again!” futaba called out as she ran downstairs

ren heard as a huge amount of shuffling was coming his way

all of sudden the entire gang was right in his face asking questions

”ren are you ok?” haru asked about his well-being

”what were you doing in the palace all by yourself?” yusuke asked about his reasoning for going into the palace by himself

”did you sleep there!?” ryuji asked

”you had us all worried!” shiho screamed

”hold on one at a time we don’t want ren fainting on us” makoto said as everyone backed off from asking any more questions 

“anyways ren can you fill us in on what happened to you” makoto asked

”I.....I don’t know..” ren couldn’t seem to remember what happened 

“what do you mean you don’t know?” mishima asked

”I don’t know all remember was that I was leaving Leblanc and then that’s it...”

everyone looked at eachother before turning their heads back to ren

”well whatever happened to you means that you need to stop” Ann’s voice filled the empty room

”I don’t know how many times you’ll keep doing this before you finally stop but it’s time you go on a break” Ann’s voice sounded shaky as she tried to speak clearly and loudly 

“this is for the best ren but you have to lay low for a while until we further notice...” ann told him

ren looked down at his hands while he finally realized what his own actions actually caused

”ok...I’ll listen this time”

”thank you..”

it was all silent as everyone looked to ren actually atoning for his actions as he sat there reflecting for what had happened

after a little more talking everyone soon left one by one until it was just ren and ann

ren had kept the same sad and distraught face as he was not only disappointed for letting everyone down but he was disappointed that he let his anger flow through and take control of his emotions

ann sat next to ren

”ren why did you do that? just thinking about what had happened I’m worried for you” ann held ren’s hand while ren silently gazed at her

”I...reacted to my anger...again...” ren said honestly

”ren I love that you want to be selfless but enough is enough...” ann started to tremble as tears slowly flowed from her eyes

ren couldn’t think of anything to say

“ren I don’t want to do this but I have no choice if I want to make sure you won’t do anything stupid”

ren was silent 

“ren I want you to answer me truthfully”

ren looked directly into ann’s eyes

”do you love me?” ann asked as serious as she could without letting anymore of her tears flow out

”of course..” ren answered 

“then I want you to listen to me and stay away from the metaverse and if you don’t...” ann paused as she mustered the energy to properly say it

”if I don’t...” ren repeated gloomily

”I’ll break up with you..”

ren almost went pale hearing those words come out of ann's mouth

ren gulped and silently nodded

“that’s all I wanted to say..” ann stood you firm ren’s bed and walked away without even saying goodbye 

ren sat there for a while after ann left

”maybe arsene was right...” ren said aloud

ren fell backwards and he laid in his bed while soaking up everything that had happened

”I’m an idiot..”

ren couldn’t help but regret his actions

* * *

_**Big bang burger HQ** _

it was the day after and everyone had met up right after school

“ren I want you to promise me you won’t use the metanav and that we will go eat something later”

ann was squishing ren’s face as she stared into his eyes

”i promise I won’t use the metanav and that I’ll go to cafe with you” ren recited

”good” ann grinned “and I’ll make sure that we can go somewhere nice and special for us once this all ends kay?”

ren blushed “sure thing”

“come on we have to go!” shiho called out

”coming!” ann yelled back

”make sure to come back safe” ren embraced her hugged her

”of course..” ann returned the same feeling

ann gave ren a little farewell kiss before rejoining the rest of the gang and teleporting into the metaverse

ren kept waving until she and the rest of the group finally disappeared from his sights

” **so you’ve calmed down?** ”

” _yep_ ”

ren had gone into the velvet room before he went on the train to school and he picked up arsene after some lecturing from the twins about how to discipline a rebelling persona

” **so now that you’re forced to go on a break what do you want to do?** ”

” _i need advice_ ” 

“ **advice? for what?** ”

” _I need to come clean to everyone but it’s gonna be hard to come out_ ”

” **you mean for mainly futaba? right?** ”

” _yeah I knew her mother and I knew exactly what happened to her_ ”

” **you’re right but maybe they’ll understand once you figure it all out** ”

” _that’s why I need to ask someone for some_ ”

* * *

_**Kazuma’s apartment** _

ren rang the doorbell

” **it’s good to see your old man once in a while** ”

”yeah...” ren took a deep breath as he prepared himself for his father’s antics

some footsteps could be heard from within the apartment

kazuma opened the door to his apartment to see ren waiting outside 

without even a single word spoken kazuma hugged ren

”oh it’s so good to see my boy” kazuma pulled away but he still had a grip on ren’s shoulders “how’s it been? have you eaten well? have you and ann planned on marriage? ohh when will the ceremony be? when do I get to see my first grandchild?” kazuma couldn’t contain his excitement

”dad! I haven’t even said hello yet!!!” ren shouted at his father for being too asking of him

”my bad it’s been so long since I’ve last seen you” kazuma hadn’t seen ren in a very long while

”I guess it has been that long since I’ve seen you” ren admitted

”why don’t you come inside and have some coffee with me” kazuma suggested

”sure why not”

ren stepped inside to see the place as normal as it should be

his dad took away the mat that he used to wrestle with the other officers

the two sat at the table after kazuma had made coffee for the two of them

”hey dad I kinda need to ask for advice about something” ren asked as he slowly took a sip of his coffee

”advice? for what? don’t tell me that you and ann broke up!” kazuma thought of the worst possible outcomes

”dad can I finish what I’m about to say before you muck up the conversation?” ren asked annoyed

”sorry force of habit” kazuma said not wanting to start a fight with his son

”well I kinda have to tell my friends about something but I don’t know how to tell it” ren started it off

“what do you mean? did you keep a secret with someone?”

”it’s more like I haven’t told them the truth of a few things” ren wasn’t messing around this time

the more he waited the more weight he carried by keeping all of his secrets

”so is it about something you did back in home? or was it here..?” kazuma saw how serious the topic was

seeing as how ren was so distant from him after kasumi died maybe this part of him transitioned over time tokyo and ren got himself into another mess again

kazuma took a sip of his coffee as he remembered the day ren came back home the day she died

he didn’t know what happened but he can never forgot the traumatized and changed face ren had that day

”it was here..and back home to some extent”

”well ren I’m not gonna ask you what that secret is, I’ll respect your privacy for this moment” kazuma said with earnest

”thanks dad”

”anyways I suggest as the first step to be small bits and pieces, not to small to miss but not too big to change their view on you” kazuma suggested

”try to be in their shoes for the time being as you think it through and try not to take to long in telling them otherwise you might accidentally make things worse for everyone” kazuma warned

ren sat there in his chair thinking

” **so are you finally going to find a way to tell them about everything that has happened?** ”

“ _I have to_ ”

” **mind filling me in on why now of all times?** ”

” _I just had a nightmare about it and now I’m scared about it_ ”

” **so it took a nightmare to scare you into telling the truth** ”

” _it was just how surreal it was.._ ”

” **whatever works for you** ”

”thanks, I think I can make that work” ren could try to apply to this to how he should reveal himself

”anytime ren” kazuma smiled as he felt accomplished knowing he helped his son out

ren gave a sigh of relief after getting his first step into trying to tell his friends about himself

”anyways dad what have you been doing since that last time I saw you?”

”I’ve been trying to work on the phantom thieves case but sae-san hasn’t been helping me at all. she still holds a grudge against me”

”sae-san?”

”do you not remember!? she’s makoto’s sister” kazuma told ren

”oh that one, my bad I forgot”

”jeez maybe we should’ve went to dinner with jiro”

”jiro?”

”makoto’s father, remember?” kazuma thought ren remembered but it seemed ren didn’t

ren shook his head as he didn’t know who he was referring to

”the guy that showed up to our house that almost gave me a walloping on the mat”

”dad that’s nearly every police officer that’s been to our house except you’re being generous by saying they almost did” ren didn’t know which person he was talking about

”the one that came to our house a little before Christmas a few years back”

“Christmas?....Christmas...”ren then thought about that information for a little bit

”oh that guy wait you said he was the father..of..makoto” ren’s voice slowly dampened as he realized who he was

” _shit_ ” ren connected the dots

” **I actually forgot about what happened to him, is he important?** ” arsene didn’t exactly know why ren was panicking so much

” _..._ ” ren was stunned and stone cold silent

” **oh** ”

”it’s a shame too, to think he died the way he did but I’m planning on finding out what happened to him and once I do I’ll be even closer to knowing the truth of everything”

”I see...” ren spoke more quieter and shakier than before

”ren? you alright there..?” kazuma asked as ren seemed to be a bit more shaky all of a sudden

”I’m good...” ren tried to sound as normal as he could

”well anyways do you wanna watch a movie with me? or are you going to try to solve your problem immediately” kazuma asked

”I’m going to go fix it immediately” tens tood up from his chair and drank his coffee until there was none left in his cup

”I’m gonna go dad, see ya” ren ran out the door

”stay safe and take care!” kazuma yelled as he saw ren leave his apartment

kazuma then sighed immediately after ren left

”that boy never changes...I wonder what he’s hiding”

* * *

_**Laboratory** _

akechi walked into the laboratory in order to see hisoka in order to receive his order that he asked for

when he walked in he saw the scientist speak to a man with a black suit on

”teshima-san do you happen to have what the boss wanted?” The man asked hisoka

”I don’t have the thing Shido wanted me to make, I told him that it would take longer than a week to produce” hisoka seemed to be stressed out from the conversation 

”well he needs it by the end of this week unless you want to be taken out of your role as one of his head scientists”

”alright alright tell him by the end of the week and I’ll make him some for the research team”

”thank you for your cooperation” the man said as he turned away and walked past akechi

but not before at least greeting akechi “good evening akechi, I believe you already have the plan to take out okumura?” he asked

”ready for whenever the plan actually begins” akechi told him

”good to know” the man left the lab

akechi then looked back over to hisoka to see he was completely exhausted from the conversation 

“so was that amount something you had to do for Shido?” akechi asked

”yeah, he told me to make something for him but I haven’t gotten all that I need to make the darn drug” hisoka kept groaning as he massages his head

”anyways do you have what I was asking for?”

”oh the poison?” hisoka reached over the desk and he got a small plastic bottle out”

he then reached his hand over to akechi with the bottle in hand “here, this is barely anything compared to what I made for you a while back even if this poison is potent” 

”will is do as I requested?” akechi asked as he inspected the bottle

”the basic isn’t of what you asked for was something that’ll nullify all pain, forces the target go into a blind but functional rage, complete paralyzation of the muscles but they can still hear and see, and it’ll slowly kill the target if it goes untreated. did I miss any one of them?” hisoka listed all the side effects that akechi had wanted to go into such a poison 

“you seem very calm for this request” akechi was amazed he could stomach down this intense creation 

”what you asked of me is light work compared to the mind altering super drug you made me work on. a single dose of that to a normal person might make them go insane” 

“you know as well as me how dangerous this person could be” 

“regardless of that have you even used it? if this plan goes south you know Shido will take you out of his plan right?” hisoka warned about akechi being to lax in the situation

”it’s fine after all I have an opportune time to strike” akechi smiled as he thought about the plan in his head

he would strike as soon as the phantom thieves sent the calling card to okumura

hisoka sighed as he swiveled his chair back so that it would face his desk instead of akechi “you can’t back down from something that’ll give you a challenge can’t you?”

”it’s just something I’ve lived with”akechi put the bottle away into his pocket 

“anyways you better hurry up and get out of here, I have an busy day tomorrow with the rest of the science team in order to make this drug Shido wants” 

“fine then” akechi walked away towards the door “I’ll leave you to it then..”

akechi left the laboratory

”that kid is too easy to read”

hisoka laughed as he began to pack up for the evening

* * *

_**Diner** _

ren and ann were getting some food to top of Ann’s day of palace spelunking

they sat at a small table as they waited for their food to come out

”I’m soooo tired...” ann sprawled her arms on the table as she was exhausted from fighting shadows

”did you go far?” ren sipped an iced tea that he ordered

”a little, futaba said we’re near the end of the palace so maybe tomorrow will be the last day before we send the calling card”

”that’s good, will I be able to participate?” ren asked

”I guess....” ann sulked as she stared away from ren

”are you still mad about last night?” ren asked as he felt like that was why she was moody

”yeah...you keep lying to me and it hurts to see so if I try to stop you maybe you’ll listen to me”

”sorry, I’ll try to be as honest as I can....” ren paused for a second “I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused”

ann sat up and saw the look of guilt plastered all over ren’s face

she placed her hands on top of ren’s

”I get that what you went though must’ve been hard and that you don’t want to tell us and that’s ok, do it at your own pace and we’ll be by your side..always” ann smiles at ren which pierced into ren’s mind

ren gulped as he thought about his words

” _do I tell her..no that smile will change right as i try to speak...if she says anything then everyone will leave_ ” ren panicked in his mind as he remembered that nightmare

” **ren calm down don’t let your emotions take over** ”

”oh hey the foods here!” the food the two ordered has arrived and ann began to dig into it

”so good!!!” ann squealed as she kept eating

ren quietly bit into his as he sunk deeper into his mind

the more he thought about it the more memories of everything that had happened to him over the years let rushing back into his mind

”ren..?” ann asked as she saw ren wasn’t speaking or moving at all

”ren..?” ann poked ren with the end of her fork

”huh!?” ren was startled as if he had just awoken from a dream

”you ok there ren? you were spaced it pretty hard there”

”my bad I was just...thinking things through and stuff...” ren said as he tried hard to act calm and normal

”but ren you should try this it’s soooo good!” ann held her fork with a piece of the cake she ordered near ren’s mouth

”you and your sweets..” ren accepted the piece of cake ann gave her

* * *

_**Subway** _

ann and ren stayed at the diner for a while before leaving and heading to the subway

the subway was considerably empty at this time of night

ann was resting her head on ren’s shoulder as she slept before the train hit its stop

” **you ok there ren? you lost it pretty hard back at the diner** ”

arsene sat next to ren as he discussed on ren’s attempt to tell the truth

” _I don’t think I can right now...it’s too hectic right now to try to confess I think I’ll wait till after we finish the palace to do so_ ” ren attempted to reason with arsene

” **that’s fine, with everything that’s happening right now it’s better to not stress everyone out at the same time** ”

” **as long as you finally tell them the truth it’ll go well** ”

” _hey arsene what if I don’t tell them..?_ ” ren said as he thought about it from a logical standpoint

” **and what about akechi? how will you explain that if you go and try to face him head on. not to forget the fact that you were close to revealing your relationship with wakaba** ”

” _you’re right I almost stepped on a landline there..._ ”

ren looked outside the window as he saw tried to see past the darkness

” _I’m scared..._ ” ren fiddled with his hands

” **that’s just a normal function** ”

” **it’s up to you to make the leap ren** ”

arsene dissipated from the train and back into ren’s mind leaving ren all alone sitting next to a sleeping ann

ren kept thinking about it from every single point of view

every single possible way he could go about this until..

”I....I can’t do it...”

ren couldn’t do it


	97. The calm before the storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter  
> But it looks like the okumura fight will be happening earlier than expected

_**Spaceport** _

”beyond here lies the elusive treasure that we have been waiting for so long. but what will our heroes do to reach the other side?” futaba spoke like she was a narrator giving some exposition to an audience

”out into space?” mishima said confused to where futaba was hinting to

”this is called and airlock area and this window seems more like a door” yusuke pointed out as he looked closer

”yep it seems that we have to go into space to get to the treasure!” futaba didn’t skip a beat

”hold up that’s insane!! going into space!” ryuji looked outside to see only pure space and another part of the spaceport across

there were also small bits and pieces of rocks floating around the place 

“isn’t this dangerous?” makoto asked

”of course it is, that’s why we must do it” futaba pumped her first into the air

”wouldn’t we explode if we went out into space!?” ann didn’t want to go through space if it meant exploding into a million pieces

”welll that’s what I thought but I don’t think that’s how that works here, as long as you keep your eyes and mouth shut well be fine” futaba said as she neared the airlock

”well who’s going first?” futaba looked around to see who would volunteer

”well this is the only way that we have to get to the other airlock area I guess we have to be ready and make sure we don’t-“ yusuke was cut off

”bored now just go in” futaba rushed

”oracle let us at least prepare ourselves mentally first” yusuke insisted calmly

”we don’t have time” futaba readied her foot and she booted yusuke into the airlock forcing him out into space to helplessly tumble and flounder around in space towards the other airlock area

”oracle!” makoto yelled as she saw yusuke spin around in space

”oracle-chan that was not nice of you” haru wagged her finger in front of futaba for kicking yusuke into space

”we better hurry because ren promised me to make curry and if were late because you guys can’t decide to go in I’ll do it myself” futaba threatened 

“oh yeah and what are you going to do?” ryuji decided to call her bluff

”skull I don’t think that’s wise” makoto tried to act reasonable

”I have to agree with queen on that one” ann was little frightened by how ruthless futaba could be a times

”please, what would oracle do to us?” ryuji rested his arm on top of futaba’s head as he underestimated the now annoyed and petty futaba

”you wanna bet on that?” futaba asked hiding her evil smirk

”like you can toss us all in there with brute strength” ryuji thought futaba would try to throw each of hem in one by one

”we’ll see about that....persona” futaba summoned her persona and she stepped into it

* * *

on the other side yusuke sat on the ground as he tried to recuperate after being kicked into space

”that devilish girl really kicked me over here” yusuke rubbed the back of his head since he landed terribly on the other side

yusuke stood up and dusted off his pants

”i shouldn’t be complaining too much I think joker would do the same” yusuke thought about how ren would force everyone through

he then thought about all of mishima’s complaints about being sore from ren’s grueling training regime

”I think being kicked is better than being thrown” yusuke concluded to himself

yusuke hen walked over to the window next to the airlock to see if the other were coming through

yusuke gasped as he saw the huge ball of phantom thieves coming towards his side

yusuke then looked to the airlock door to see it open and the ball of thieves collapsed and exploded onto the floor

and then futaba came out of the airlock door as well

”perfect landing” futaba yelled with glee as she stuck her arms out in the air

the rest for the group were on the ground trying to get back in their feet

”skull you idiot” shiho remarked

”it seems oracle really doesn’t mess around” makoto  commented

”we flew through space...we really flew through space!” mishima couldn’t believe that he had went through space without being able to breathe “it was so scary being thrown in like that by a ufo with tentacles”

futaba had used her persona’s ability to use tentacles to fling everyone into the airlock door and on to the other side with ease

”anyways let’s keep going the treasure is just near us!” futaba zoomed past everyone towards the treasure room

”I don’t sense any enemies nearby so this might not be as heavily guarded” yusuke pointed out

”jeez let’s just hurry, my back is killing me” ryuji rubbed his back as he had landed hard on the floor

* * *

they continued forward and they reached a room that had a bunch of crates with the Big Bang burger logo on it

past the room there was a staircase leading down towards the main attraction

a giant Big Bang burger logo that covered something like a wall or a barricade

”oracle is this it?” makoto asked

futaba messes with her goggles to see if what she was sensing was in fact the treasure

futaba nodded “yep this is it now all we need to do is prepare a calling card and send it”

”good thing we’re a few weeks ahead of our deadline am I right” ann smiled at how quick they were able to go through the palace

”I’ll say, but now that that’s over we just need to go back and send the calling card to haru’s dad” shiho let out a breath of relief 

“anyways let’s move out we don’t want to be kept in here any longer than what we have to” makoto ordered

”let’s go back and finally take his heart!” ryuji said proudly

”thank you all for this” haru was grateful that everyone was helping her with this issue

”no big deal we’re all friends aren’t we?” makoto asked

haru chuckled “maybe I’m just overthinking things”

”once this is over I hope that me and my father finally be reunited with eachother as family” haru hoped

”pssh, hope? it’s guaranteed” ryuji boasted

”I agree there’s no way we can lose with ren on our side” mishima said confidently

”let’s just make sure he doesn’t try to take down okumura before us” shiho joked

* * *

_**Ren’s attic** _

everyone went back to base where ren had been waiting for their return

”so you guys found the treasure and everything?” ren asked

”yep!” ann answered 

“nice job, so now all that’s left is the calling card?” ren asked

”yep we’ll get to it immediately” makoto assured

”no need I went and made one while you all were in the metaverse” ren pulled out an already made calling card

it had everything that the calling card needed

the name, the text and the distinct logo on the back fo the card 

“woah it looks like the ones yusuke draws” shiho looked at how similar the logo was to the one yusuke draws

”it look a little practice but I was finally able to recreate yusuke’s drawing” ren said proudly 

he had made several cards with garbage redrawings a but after a few dozen drawings ren finally got it right

yusuke stroked his chin as he examined the card “this is pretty good for someone who doesn’t draw”

”hehe” ren rubbed the back of his head after having his ego stroked

”anyways now that we have that all in order I think we should talk about how we should about the mission” makoto wanted to know how they should go in, she mainly wanted to know he plans from ren

”I think it’s simple, haru takes the calling card and she can have her maid to give the card to mr. okumura and once that’s done we can finally storm inside and take the treasure” ren talked about the plans as he had thought about it throughly in his head

”that sounds good, there shouldn’t be anything that’ll stop us if we do” mishima was anxious to be take down another palace

”slow down yuuki you never know what the catch of this palace might be” ren warned after all the other countless times that something happened to the group that caught them off guard

”anyways let’s just prepare for the road ahead” yusuke stood up from his seat

”good idea I don’t wanna be exhausted for if we have to fight haru’s dad I can’t imagine what would happen if I went in there sleepy and tired” shiho didn’t wanna go in there with no energy

”alright I’ll see you all tomorrow then and haru it’s all up to you to send the card” ren gave the card to haru

”leave it to me” haru nodded with fire in her eyes

the rest of the group left Leblanc leaving ren by himself

ren laid on his bed as he thought about things

” **we haven’t found that cat even after this long** ”

”it hadn’t been that long so I think it should be fine, that cat held himself together all in his own for a year I think he should be fine” ren assures himself

” **anyways get a good rest we don’t want to slack off** ”

”you’re right, who knows what light happen”

ren headed in for the night as he made sure he was completely energized

* * *

_**Akechi’s apartment** _

akechi was in his room messing around with some things he had kept in his locked closet

it was well into the night and morgana was asleep in the living room at this time

the lamp on his desk was on and akechi had pulled out the vials, syringe and the odd gun that was kept into the briefcase 

along with it were some darts that akechi had bought for the gun

the gun that akechi had kept was a dart gun that could help akechi have a little more range with his needles

he filled each of the darts he had with enough liquid from the vials that it’ll do it’s intended purpose

if someone was to take all of one vial they could die but if they took a smaller dosage from the dart then they could live but with a very severe catch

they would only live if they had obtained a persona otherwise their mind would completely shut down or they’d go insane until their mind did eventually shut down 

at least that was what akechi hypothesized as this type of substance was never tested on someone with a persona 

after akechi finished filling and loading each dart up he examined the gun one more time

”looks like part one of my plan is ready”

akechi tucked away the loaded gun next to the other more realistic gun that was there and the bottle filled with poison that he obtained from hisoka

”now I have to wait until ren sends the calling card”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know I was thinking about postponing the fight for a flashback chapter but saving it for after the fight might be a little more optimal 
> 
> Maybe I will save the flashback chapter for perhaps a little while down the road


	98. The greedy heart

_**Haru’s suite - early morning**_

reiko had a bright red calling card in her hands as she made her way towards Kunikazu okumura who sat on the couch in the living room

”sir this was left for you” reiko gave the card to mr. okumura 

he looked at it for a second before reading it out loud to her

unbeknownst to him haru was also listening in to the conversation 

“Sir kunikazu okumura, the great profiteering sinner of greed your success and global fame exists due to your tryanny you rain over your employees. Thus, we have decided to make you confess all you crimes with your own mouth, signed the phantom thieves of heart”

he let out a sigh and then stood up slapping the card on the table

”all of this is complete and absolute nonsense” he was appalled that this wasn’t just a circus act and that this was an actual threat

he turned towards reiko ”reiko I need you to go and phone the police about this”

”the police?” reiko repeated

”yes reiko the police, the people that’ll destroy with this issue before it gets out of hand I don’t want to see any of this”

reiko stood there silently

”what are you standing there for? I told you to phone the police so go do it!” he yelled

”right away”

reiko walked away from the situation

”I’ll be off now father” haru stepped in and went near the elevator

kunikazu turned around to look at haru

”were you listening in you snot nosed brat? go to school already!” he didn’t like that haru heard in on the conversation

* * *

_**Police station** _

akechi walked inside and he saw kazuma standing by as some of the officers and him were chatting

“did you guys hear?” one of the officers spoke to the kazuma

”hear what?”

”you know okumura? you know the guy that owns okumura foods and Big Bang burger well apparently he got a calling card from the phantom thieves” the officer told him

”the phantom thieves?” kazuma was intrigued with their involvement

”anyways the chief sent some investigators over there and I think you’re one of them”

”well I’ll be right there then” kazuma walked away presumably to the entrance of the station so he could drive there

akechi smirked as he walked tot he entrance as well

”looks like I didn’t need to wait after all”

akechi pulled out his phone and he opened the phan site

”can’t forget I have to also frame the phantom thieves as well”

* * *

_**School** _

ren walked inside and he began to walk to class

”did you hear? the phantom thieves have another target”

”oh I hope they do it I wanna see it happen”

”I think it was the ceo of okumura foods”

”oh then I really hope they do”

other classmates around ren kept chatting about the phantom thieves sending a calling card

” _how do they know?_ ”

” **I don’t know how but word travels fast** ”

” _this is troubling_ ” ren didn’t like how everyone knew about the operation

” _haru should’ve only had her father see the calling card_ ” 

ren kept walking as the entire school seemed to be only talking about the phantom theives

he went to rooftops where everyone besides the two who didn’t go to shujin were gathered

everyone else had the same troubled look that ren had

”haru your dad read the card right?” ren first asked

”he did but then he got the police involved and the information kept getting spread around” haru was caught off guard by how her father responded

”and what about the phan site?” ren looked to mishima

”I don’t know either! all of a sudden the phan site is bombarded with messages about another calling card being sent, they even know that our target is haru’s dad!” mishima was overwhelmed as he didn’t understand how all the info was being spread

he couldn’t do anything about it either messages kept getting put up faster than he could delete them

”they’re even using it as some kind of entertainment, dammit they think this is just some act!” ryuji was scrolling through the messages on the phantom site and he didn’t like what they were saying

”it’s annoying to see these people consider this a game to begin with” shiho said irritated

”he got the police involved and then someone leaked the information” makoto deduced

”so what now ren?” ann asked

”the mission doesn’t change regardless, let’s just get through this day and take him down. nothing changes if the public knows about this” ren said

”anyways let’s go back before anyone hears us” ren left the rooftops first

”why would someone leak the info?” ann asked

”maybe they have a person on the inside who is colluding with him” makoto said

”well let’s just listen to ren, this will all blow over like the other times” ryuji frustratedly scratched his head

”I hope nothing happens” haru said

* * *

_**Big bang burger Hq - afterschool** _

ren stood one front of the headquarters with everyone standing behind him

“alright you guys will have to show me what to do once we get near the treasure since you guys all went ahead” ren looked to the others

”don’t worry I won’t throw you over there” futaba assured

”I don’t know what that means but don’t play any games, this is serious” ren said with a serious look on his face

”got it” futaba saluted

”let’s go” ren pressed the button and they all disappeared into the metaverse

witnessing everything was akechi and morgana who hid in the shadows in an alleyway that was adjacent to the building

”looks like they went in” morgana observed

akechi had brought his dart gun and a spare vial filled with the substance in case he needed it

”so then you said that the palace will get extremely tough right?” akechi asked still pretending that he didn’t know what the metaverse was

”yep, as long as we don’t run into any unnecessary fights we’ll be fine” morgana advised 

“well let’s make sure we avoid them as well”

”we have to avoid them? I wanted to take the spotlight from them and take the treasure if that was possible”

”alright we can do that but after ok?” akechi promised

”sounds good” morgana didn’t mind that plan at all and as a matter of fact he liked that plan in its entirety

stealing the spotlight was a way perfect to get back at ren, ryuji and the rest of the group

”now let’s just go into the palace and wait for our moment” morgana pranced over near the entrance way as he imagined how it would all play out

”at least he’s obedient” akechi commented as he followed morgana

he pulled out his phone and began to teleport into the palace

* * *

_**Spaceport** _

the group began to run through the palace avoiding enemies at all costs

[the S.S. Utopia will soon be leaving through the ship building docks] a PA system spoke through the speaker system that was on the ship

“the s.s utopia?” mishima didn’t know what that was

”maybe it’s some kind of ship” ann answered

”s.s. utopia...maybe it’s symbolic for his departure into the political world” yusuke pondered

”whatever it is we have to make sure he can’t use it” ren said as he lead the group

they eventually made it to where the treasure was

the walls that surrounded the treasure were now open revealing a glowing orb

”there’s the treasure” futaba said joyfully “and a ufo..?” futaba didn’t understand why there was a ufo there

”let’s grab it” ryuji said anxious to grab the treasure and leave immediately

before ren could quickly jump over and grab it the lights that were lined on the floor began to shine a cautious yellow and an announcers voice spoke through 

[emergency launch sequence will soon be activated, certain areas will be destroyed or shut off. it is advised that all personnel must get to a safe area during this period]

”emergency launch?” shiho said confused

all of a sudden the treasure began to fly upwards into some sort of contraption that was able to capture it

okumura’s shadow spoke through the PA system that was on the ship

[sorry to trouble you thieves but I have other things to deal with so I can’t stick around and chat as I must be leaving soon, but as a farewell gift you all will have to stay here and blow up with the rest of this base] 

his laughter could be heard right before he turned off the mic

”shit we’re gonna blow up here?” ryuji asked a little frightened

”is there a way we can get up to there?” makoto looked for a way to get up there

ren also searched for a way up to the ufo and he saw a stairwell that led upwards

maybe there was a way for them to get up there

”everyone! follow me I think I know of a way!” ren yelled as he rushed over to the stair well

everyone followed ren as they climbed up the staircase and into another part of the base

they saw as it all led to a platform with a very suspicious button on it

”joker I think that button may lead us to the ufo” makoto pointed out

”perfect, we’ll use it” joker said as he rushed ahead of the group

”joker! two shadows up ahead they look pretty strong too!” futaba aw up ahead using her goggles

”tch!” ren pulled out his dagger and he used a persona to speed himself up

ren rushed ahead and he destroyed the two shadows with one slice

ren didn’t lose any momentum as he rushed towards the platform

after some more running and jumping around they all made it to the platform

they pressed the button and it transported them onto the bigger platform that the ufo was parked on

the contraption that also took the treasure had placed it into the main core of the ufo

they also saw in front of them that okumura’s shadow was beginning to board the ufo

”father!” haru yelled out which grabbed the shadow’s attention

he sighed and he walked back down to greet the phantom thieves

”looks like we caught up to you” ryuji boasted

”...looks like I’ve lost. you win I am sorry, I will have a change of heart. I’ll prove it” okumura’s shadow went down in his knees and hands

”oh really...” ann didn’t buy it 

”that’s some acting skill you got, that might even be better than panther’s” ren said with a smirk

shiho tried her hardest to not laugh out loud

”what’s that supposed to mean?” ann was offended by ren’s comment

“oh nothing” ren

” **really...** ” arsene said as he didn’t understand why ren would joke around at a time like this

”even at a time like this you two flirt” yusuke shook his head

”father...” haru stepped forward as she got near her dad

”haru honey..you’ve grown so much and became such a strong independent women..reminds me of when it was your first sports day and you cried your eyes out when my work kept me busy...and now look at you. I was worried at first but then I saw how you’ve grown and how admirable you turned out to be...no father can disappointed at that”

”you...you remembered that day?” haru was surprised that he recalled of such an event that happened so long ago

”of course I did, I remember it like it was yesterday” 

“but father even so...you’ve changed as well. I still remember when you would pour your heart and soul into making food just to see the smiles on people’s faces...” 

“please haru! don’t take my treasure! I wouldn’t last if you did so please leave me be..I’m begging you!” he tipped his head downwards as he begged desperately 

everyone looked to eachother a little confused by the sudden change of personality

they all stepped forward and haru stood above her dad

”please father..let’s just end it here without any fighting”

he lifted his head as he laughed

”oh haru...you really are foolish” he quickly pulled out a remote and pressed it

unknown to the group they had stood on top of a circle that spawned a blue shield that kept everyone stuck inside of it

”what the!” mishima was surprised

”we’re trapped?” makoto was alarmed

ren tried to kick the shield but nothing happened when he did 

”everyone!” haru cried out as she was the only one that wasn’t in the shield

”I’m still shocked that you decided to join this group of thugs, as a father I am ashamed but at the same time I’m fascinated with that kind of independence” 

“but haru you should remember our family motto ‘overcome failure at any cost, even if it’s means betraying others” that’s the cold reality of business. if one was to act out of virtue and sentiments they would never find happiness” okumura got up on his feet

”then how can you find joy in crushing the hearts of others just for profit” 

”haru you must understand, being in debt is the worst thing possible, it’s better if you and me stand on top of the food chain than the rest of them”

”and soon I will soar higher into the upper echelons of the world once I join the political landscape soon there will be nothing that’ll top me and I’ll be forever etched into the annals of history” he gloated 

“now then haru I wish for you to make a choice, I’ll give you that amount of leisure. either join me and we shall soar above the clouds together or stay here and die with your friends” okumura’s shadow gave haru a choice

”fine....I’ll join...” haru now stood next to okumura’s shadow

”that’s a fantastic choice haru” he snickered as he looked at the eyes of the others trapped in his shield

”noir...” makoto said lightly

”I’ll join alright...” haru quickly went into his pocket and she snatched the remote that controlled the shield

”wait haru what are you doing?” okumura said confused to why haru was have a sudden change of heart

”I’ll join my friends in taking that greedy heart of yours!” she smashed the controller on the ground freeing her friends from the shield

once the shield came down everyone immediately got out of the circle and joined up with haru

okumura backed away from them and he regained his composure

”haru I was doing this for the benefit of the both of us but it seems that negotiations are off the table”

a hovering chair flew behind him and he sat on it

there were countless buttons on that chair that no one knew the function of

”everyone get ready for the worst!” ren announced

”impotent brats..I’ll make sure that none of you escape with your lives!” okumura presses a button and several dozens of robots surrounded the group

”oracle how many are there?” makoto wanted to know how many okumura had summoned

”from my estimation I’d say about at least 80 robots” futaba answered

”and they’ll be more where that came from” okumura announced from behind all the soldiers

”they don’t look like the ones we fought on the ship too” ann observed

”they might be way stronger so let’s be careful” makoto advised

”now then! incinerate then!” okumura ordered

”right away sir” the robots all said in unison

”arsene!” ren summoned arsene and he sent a barrage of heavy curse spells towards the robots

various metal parts flew into he air

”not enough!” ren yelled as he kept sending more and more curse spells

” **ren you’re starting to abuse your body by doing this** ”

”shut up!!” ren screamed

ren kept going through robots left and right before his friend could be overwhelmed by them

* * *

the others were doing the best they can

“die!” a robot that was about to jump shiho

luckily ann had her back and she destroyed the robot with a flame spell

”these robots keep coming!” shiho said as she stood back to back with ann

”raven, I have an idea” ann said as she faced shiho

”what’s your idea?” shiho asked willing to do anything to get these robots off and away

”let me see your spear” ann asked

”my spear?”

shiho allowed ann to see the tip of her spear

”agilao” ann used a fire spell to ignite the tip of her spear

”now it can burn the robots as well when you try to attack them” ann said while shiho inspected the spear

”cool” shiho then aimed her spear at a nearby robot “hiyah!” shiho easily stabbed her spear through the robot with barely any effort required

”woah it actually worked!” shiho was shocked to see the fire spear combo actually work

”told you it would work” ann said with a smile

”maybe you do have a something in that head of yours that’s always filled with air” shiho chuckled as she aimed for her next target

* * *

”DAMN! they keep comin!” ryuji yelled as he smashed another robot

”I can’t keep up..” mishima was sweating bullets

”too bad though” ryuji whacked another robot “this ain’t nothing like what kamoshida put me through!” 

”yeah...and joker has made me go through way worse!” mishima took out his pistol and he blasted through another robot

“sounds like you haven’t been training right though” ryuji blasted a robot with an electric spell

”what do you mean?” mishima slashed another one “I’m fine”

”didn’t you say you that you couldn’t keep up?” ryuji repeated mishima’s words

”that was in the best of the moment!” mishima attempted to save himself 

“yeah, yeah” ryuji slammed another robot with his bat

* * *

”all fo you will be put through my sword!” yusuke unsheathed his katana and splashed through a group of robots

”hiyah!” makoto slammed another robot into the ground

”how is everyone holding up oracle?” makoto asked as she sent a nuke spell towards another robot

”pretty well, we’ve taken out half of the first round” futaba told makoto

”what do you mean first round?” yusuke asked as he slashed another robot

”there’s about 40 more coming in hot and there will be more from where they came from” futaba announced as she kept looking around through her ufo

”looks like this will be a very energy consuming fight” yusuke launched an ice attack

”nothing we can’t handle though” makoto knocked three more robots back

* * *

”everyone...” haru observed as everyone around her was trying their best to help her with her issues

”you all are trying your best to help me..”

a smile appeared on haru’s face

”I won’t let any of you down!”

haru summoned her persona and she sent a volley of psy attacks all over the place

“haru...” okumura fist tightened as he saw his daughter really disobey him

he then kept smashing the buttons on his chair

”more! I need more robots!” he ordered

more robots kept coming in on all fronts

“60 more robots just arrived into the scene!” futaba announced through her ufo

”father!” haru yelled as she clobbered more robots to get near her dad “why are you doing this!”

”it’s for the benefit of the both of us! all I’ve done so far has been for our happiness but you fail to see all I’ve done for you! you ungrateful child!” he yelled out as he kept smashing the button for more robots

”10 more behind you noir!” futaba called out

haru gripped her axe as tight as she could before swinging it directly behind her knocking back four of the robots and chasing them to collide into the others

a tear rolled down her eye as she switched to her grenade launcher 

she shot a grenade that blew up every single robot in that pile

”holy crap noir!” futaba observed from above

“there is no happiness if you keep trying to pretend that I’m happy!” haru yelled

”well aren’t you? you always smile and such when you come home” he tried to defend himself

”that’s because my friends are there to help me!” haru sent another volley of psy spells around the place destroying robots left and right

everyone paused in the middle of their attacks as they saw haru take center stage

“father please listen to me! all I wanted was for us to be together like a family!” haru kept trying to plead with her father

okumura was backed into a corner that he didn’t want to be in

he pressed one final button and out came one final robot

a giant executive robot that stood tall over the smaller robots

”get them! my right hand man!” okumura ordered

”that’s a huge one” mishima glanced at the giant robot make its way towards haru

ann had her hands full trying to deal with the robots on her to go and help haru “noir!”

makoto was starting to tire herself out “that one is too much for her, we have to help!”

”here’s too many robots! the best I can do it boost her!” futaba had her hands full helping everyone out by flinging the robots around and she was getting overwhelmed

ren was busy being surrounded by robots to go and assist her “noir!” he cried out

” **ren watch out behind you!** ”

ren listened to arsene’s feedback and he took out the robot behind him

haru stood there as she saw the giant robot that was bigger than the sugimura bot tower over her

she gulped as she tried to think about what to do

she took a deep breath and she planted her axe into the floor

“father of this is what you want to happen then so be it but just know that even after all of this...that I still love you..” haru said as she held her arms out preparing for the worst

”noir no!” ren moved his attention to haru before being forced to fight against more robots as they kept jumping on top of him

the giant executive robot lifted his fist into the air

okumura watched as he contemplated in his head

the robot began to drop his fist into haru

“stop! stop right now!” okumura yelled out ordering the executive robot to not attack haru

the executive robot stopped and it turned back to look at okumura

”all of you stop this instant! right this very second! any of you who disobeys will be put into the he scrap heap!” okumura got out of his seat and he began barking orders and threats

every robot stopped attacking and everyone had room to breath and relax

”cancel the emergency launch as well!” okumura screamed

[emergency launch sequence aborted] the PA system spoke 

okumura was out of breath from the amount of yelling he had to do

he cleared his throat and he looked to haru

”haru...I realized what you’ve said...this is out of honesty and from the bottom of my heart but i didn’t know these things caused so much pain” okumura sounded sorrowful as he spoke to haru

”what would your mother think of me at this very moment...I’m such a failure to use my daughter for gain” tears began rolling through his eyes

he couldn’t wipe it due to his helmet getting in the way but he didn’t care

he smiled at haru while the tears kept coming

“haru I never once thought about your feelings but now that I’ve thought about it all I realize the kind of blunder I have made in doing so, to think I was a fool in letting my greed take over my own thoughts and letting it overpower my love for my own daughter. it’s unforgivable” he began to weep a little as he fell to his knees in front of haru

”father...” haru walked up to him

”I’ll try to make it up to you as best as I can, I’ll reject the marriage offer and I’ll fix what I’ve done to okumura foods” he said in complete defeat

”thank you father as long as you and me can finally be a family together” haru hugged her father as the others walked up towards them

“I told you we should’ve came in earlier!” morgana said from afar

”wait I know that voice” futaba said as she tried to see past the robots

”who’s that?” ann asked in confusion as she saw a figure dressed in white with a red mask walk next to morgana

“..!” ren knew exactly who that was

” **what’s he doing here!?** ” arsene was shocked as well

”it’s fine, after all it seems to have been dealt with” akechi said with a smile on his face

”mona! you’ve returned! with a friend?” haru was overjoyed to see morgana and interested to see who was with him

”greetings! it’s been an honor to meet all of you” akechi said with a bow as well

”he sounds familiar” yusuke couldn’t figure out who it was behind the mask

”even so you’ve could’ve help us, we had to take out all these damn robots by ourselves” ryuji complained to the two

the two still kept their distance but something startled morgana

”joker? why are you pointing your gun at us?” morgana pointed out

everyone turned to see ren with an angry and tense expression and he gripped his gun tightly aiming directly at akechi

”mona...get the hell away from him” ren warned

”what are you on about?” morgana was confused by how paranoid ren was acting

”joker, I think you should calm down” makoto tried to ease ren

”joker what did I tell you about doing something stupid” ann was disappointed to see ren act this way again

akechi chuckled

”looks like the jig is up...” akechi said as he kept chuckling

”what jig?” morgana turned to look at akechi

his immediate curiosity turned into absolute and utter fear as he saw that the prince detective had retired the outfit for a darker blue and black striped outfit with several belts on his arms and legs and a tattered cape

and to top it all of he had a dark helmet that covered his entire head  it it left enough room for his wicked and evil smile to come through

”crow..?” morgana slowly backed away as he akechi had aimed a cursed attack directly at him

”eigaon..” akechi fired the massive cursed attack directly at morgana sending him flying through the air

everyone watched in horror as they saw morgana slam into the ground with smoke coming off of him

”mona!” haru cried out as she rushed to his side

she summoned her persona and began healing him immediately

”I thought...we were...partners...” morgana muttered weakly

akechi began to laugh maniacally 

“it’s time for the main act to finally play out”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it’s time for the real showdown to begin


	99. Chaos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I bought royal and it’s a way better alternative than vanilla persona 5
> 
>  ok besides off topic conversations this won’t be the last intense chapter
> 
> Things only get more intense from here

“HEY! what the hell was that for!?” ryuji yelled at the dark mask

akechi laughed

”you think you’re so tough because we can’t see you face through that dark mask!?” ryuji called out

”why are you here?” okumura said “what are you doing?”

”father what do you mean?” haru asked as she was confused to what kind of affiliation her father had with the dark mask

”sorry but I’ve been contracted by another person” akechi answered “and it seems that you’re the person I have to kill”

”wait dark mask...” makoto realized who this was

”the one who killed my mom..” futaba realized what this meant

”your mother? oh you mean wakaba-san?” akechi said in a condescending tone

”why!? why did you kill her!?” futaba screamed out as she tried to hold back her tears

”why? why don’t you ask your leader then?” akechi pointed to ren

”joker?” futaba was completely baffled that he would call out ren

”you know something don’t you?” akechi kept trying to taunt ren into attacking him

ren had enough of this and he dashed towards akechi aiming for his neck

however akechi was able to unsheathe his sword and block the attack in time to block it

”daring of you, I see your anger hasn’t gone down the last time I saw you...REN” akechi’s grin kept angering ren 

ren’s face got even more tense as he kept trying to catch akechi with his dagger

ren kept his onslaught of dagger strikes up as he kept speeding himself up

”multiple personas? it seems you’ve also gained a few new tricks in your sleeve” akechi complimented as he kept blocking all of ren’s attacks

” **ren calm down, you’re letting pure anger go through and you can’t focus correctly** ”

”shut up!” ren yelled ignoring arsene 

“come on ren what gives? too much bark and not enough bite!? you used to be much stronger when we went through palaces together”

ren’s rage kept skyrocketing as he tried his hardest to get a single attack in

”what’s wrong ren? you’ve grown soft!” akechi kept agitating ren as he mocked his strength only causing ren’s anger to fire up

the rest of the group watched from a far

”how does he know joker?” ann didn’t understand any of what he was saying

”I...I don’t know at this point” makoto couldn’t wrap her head around these things

”he knows who we are, maybe it’s just a bluff” mishima tried to calm himself

”right...it’s just a bluff” futaba took deep breaths as she calmed herself down

who knew that their target all along would show himself now of all times 

“we have to help him somehow right?” ryuji didn’t like being put into the sidelines

”wait I have an idea!” okumura said as he looked to his robot workers

”what is it?” shiho asked

”all of you! go attack the one in the dark mask right this instant! he’s an intruder than need to be exterminated pronto!”

all of the robots that were still intact including the executive robot 

they all began to charge towards akechi

”oh perfect timing! I was wondering when you would send them towards me”

akechi dodged another one of ren’s rage filled dagger strikes and then he kicked him into the stomach before he delivered another kick that sent him flying a few feet away

akechi watched as all the robots proceeded to jump on him and try to attack him with all they could 

“call of chaos!!” akechi yelled out as his persona came out from him and began to do something to every single robot that was near his vicinity

all of the robots had turned completely black and they had a red glow on them

”what’s happening?” yusuke didn’t know what akechi had done

even the executive bot was taken under akechi’s control

”what are you doing? attack him! attack him!” okumura tried to give hem all orders

”it’s no use everyone of them is under my control” akechi cackled “you’re not the only one with tricks up their sleeve ren!!” it seemed even akechi had gain some new abilities

”now then...attack every single one of those pawns, kill them and make sure their death is as painful as humanly possible” akechi ordered as all the robots began to charge at the phantom thieves

”oh shit man they look even tougher than the normal ones” ryuji was taken aback by how the robots seemed to have gone berserk

”I’ll do all I can!” futaba got into her persona as she tried to find a way to help her friends as soon as she got into her persona

”father! please get behind me, I’ll do whatever I can to protect you” haru stood in front of both her dad and morgana

”I’m sorry for being useless” okumura felt sorry

”it’s ok I can handle this, I’m tough as well!” haru readied her axe for any oncoming enemies 

“everyone!” makoto began to order everyone around since ren was busy fighting the dark mask to do anything else “we have to back up joker so let’s start by taking down every single robot”

makoto dashed forward and collided her fist directly into one of them

the robots weren’t messing around either as their strikes had much more force and power on them

”what they hell did he do to them!?” ryuji kept hitting and smashing any robot he could but his bat would just bounce off their metallic bodies

”try to use your personas, our weapons don’t seem to do much!” makoto advised as she called out her persona

”let see if they like this!” mishima proceeded to unload all the rounds in his pistol right into a robot’s face

the robot burst past through the shots and punched mishima in the stomach knocking  the wind right out of him

mishima flew backwards 

“admin!” ann called out mishima’s code name as she was fighting off 2 robots at one time

”there should be at least 40 robots that survived” futaba analyzed “they all are too tough to have weakness” futaba quickly typed on her computer

all of a sudden everyone on the team felt rejuvenated 

“I boosted all of you as much as I could! you should be able to run, attack and block way more now!” futaba tried to help in any way she could

”crap I need to help joker!”

futaba flew her ufo towards the brawl between joker and the masked one she didn’t know

all she knew was that ren was fighting for his life and that the dark mask was the one responsible for her mother’s death 

“joker! I’ll help you out!”

”ORACLE! stay back!” ren unfocused for a quick second to urge futaba to leave him be

”you’re wide open!” akechi yelled at ren

ren switched back to akechi for a split second just to see his foot go straight into his stomach

ren got sent flying back into the wall

”joker!” futaba called out his name

”you’re very annoying to be flying around there” akechi aimed his hand at the ufo “eigaon” akechi readied a very powerful curse attack

”no!” joker popped back up and he lunged at him hoping to stop him before he shot his spell at futaba

”you fell for it” akechi moved his hand at ren’s face as his attack was just a bluff in order to bait ren into coming at him

akechi fired the shot it

ren attempted to react in time by firing his own curse spell

”eigaon!”

but nothing came out

” _I’m out of energy!?_ ” ren realized he had no more energy in order to use any high costing attacks

ren could only take the blast head on and hope he wouldn't be injured by the attack

ren was engulfed by an explosion as he was sent flying back into the wall he came from but with more force than last time

” **ren, you’re nearly at your limit** ”

“I can see that!”

ren was visibly injured from that attack and it took a lot of him

ren was breathing heavily as he attempted to get back up

”looks like my objective is complete” akechi said as he got near ren and aimed his mysterious dart gun

he pulled the trigger and a single dart came flying right into ren’s chest injecting him with whatever liquid was contained into it

” **a dart?** ”

”I’ll leave that to do it’s job” akechi put the gun away and he began to walk away from ren

ren took a moment in between groaning and reaching over to take out the dart from his chest

his hand was shaking heavily as he pulled it out for some reason

” **he didn’t use his pistol? strange** ”

arsene looked up to see fighting erupt everywhere 

“ _to think I trusted you man_ ” ryuji echoes in ren’s head

” **what the!?** ” arsene didn’t know why he could hear the voice also

“ _you’re just annoying dude! to think I considered you a friend_ ” 

” **huh?** ” for some reason arsene could see a faint silhouette standing in front of ren

” **what is happening?** ” arsene floated towards the silhouette but his body couldn’t react with it

he then realized that his right hand was also beginning to fade away as well

” **wait this isn’t right** ” his hand was now see through

and them it clicked inside arsene “ **I know what this is, he couldn’t have...** ”

ren stood back up from the rubble

”I’ll...kill him....”

arsene looked back to ren to see his cold dead eyes. it seemed ren was starting to lose it

” **hold up ren calm down you are going too far** ” arsene tried to calm down ren

”I’ll kill him!” ren kept muttering as he slowly walked towards akechi’s location

” **wait!** ”

ren began to sprint towards akechi

* * *

akechi aimed another cursed attack towards futaba

”hold still you little runt!” akechi fired another cursed shot towards futaba’s ufo

futaba had been holding off on her own by dodging the incoming curse spells

”you there!” akechi pointed at the executive bot

the executive bot activated

”go deal with the ufo” he commanded

the executive bot walked off as it followed orders

”right, now where’s that ceo” akechi tried to scan where okumura was hiding

akechi heard some footsteps coming very fast towards him

he looked and turned as he saw ren mere inches from him

“how the!?” akechi was stunned to see ren still up and running after being injected

ren thrusted his knee into akechi colliding with his ribs knocking him back

the attack didn’t knock him on the ground. even thought it was unexpected akechi had taken worse and still stood

“you think an attack like that can take me down!?” akechi snarled

but akechi bit a little too much for him to chew as it gave ren a clean opening for him to slash across his chest

ren handed akechi 3 brutal slashes to be exact that were deep enough to expose some blood but not enough to take immediate caution of

akechi jumped back in order to put some space between himself and ren “son of a bitch!”

akechi took out his dart gun again and he fired 3 more darts towards ren

ren flicked one away but the other two were injected straight into his arm

”he took another one!?” akechi had 2 more darts left yet ren took two of them already

akechi was stunned to know that ren had taken three darts already and yet he still had enough drive to keep going, one dart alone was enough to kill a normal person yet ren still stood his ground

it almost impressed akechi

akechi smiled as he remembered something about ren “I forget that you and me are alike in that none of us will back down from whatever corner we’re in but come on!” akechi’s dodged another attack “I’m surprised you haven’t collapsed!”

akechi and ren kept trading blows with their weapons as they searched for an opening within their defenses

”still up for a fight? not worried for whatever hell your friends are in?” akechi taunted

ren didn’t speak as he didn’t have the strength to do so

” **ren...have to stop** ” arsene’s voice was cutting in and out as more and more of him was fading from existence

arsene noticed the darts akechi had shot were starting to take effect in ren’s body

the voices around ren started to become stronger

” _even though you were so nice ren, was it to satisfy your own appeasements?_ ” haru’s voice appeared

” _how could you ren?_ ” makoto’s voice echoed in ren’s mind

“ _I thought my son was better than this!_ ” kazuma’s voice interjected

ren couldn’t think of anything right now as his mind was in a flurry of voices and pain that all mixed into one big mess

ren couldn’t think about what to do and he all that he could process correctly was his hatred and pent up anger towards akechi

* * *

”mona-chan, can you stand up?” haru finished healing morgana fully

morgana stood back up easily as he felt brand new ”I’m fine, thanks noir”

haru looked back to her surroundings to see everyone trying their best to fight

”mona...who were you with?” haru asked 

”goro akechi, the prince detective” morgana answered as he looked down

”why would he do such a thing?” haru didn’t know of akechi’s motives

”I don’t know but he’s the dark mask for sure and it seems ren has had a run in with him at some point”

”are you sure?” haru still couldn’t believe something as far fetched as that

”it’s the truth, I had him do some dirty work and take out competitors for me...” okumura admitted

”father..?” haru was shocked to see her father hired a hit man to take people out

”a scummy move of you” morgana shook his head

”I’m sorry....I wish I do more to help you all out” okumura felt weak and powerless as he was just a glorified spectator

”wait while we’re at it let’s take the treasure and maybe everyone can get out of here without any issue” morgana suggested

”that sounds smart” okumura clapped his hands and he summoned the device that held his treasure

the treasure floated down into his hands

”here you go, I’m sure I don’t need this..” okumura handed the treasure to haru

”all we need to do now is help everyone with the robots” mona advised

haru handed the treasure to morgana

“leave it to me mona” haru pulled out her grenade launcher “protect my father for me!” haru told mona as she ran off to help everyone with their robot trouble

”I hope she’ll be ok” mona wished for the best

* * *

haru kept running blowing up and slicing robots

her attacks didn’t do much to the robots but she had an easy time moving around

”help!!” futaba’s voice cried out in the distance

haru noticed it and she began rushing towards it

”oracle!” haru yelled back at the pushed more robots out of her way

as she got near she realized that the executive robot was trying to attack her 

futaba had left the comforts of her persona because she was an easy target to the executive

“oracle!!” haru ran towards her and she shot another grenade directly at the robot

it barely made any noticeable damage to the bot but it did switch it sights to her instead of futaba

haru took out her axe and she clashed with the robot but she was almost immediately outclassed by it’s sheer force and power

she let the robot overpower her just so she could maneuver her way past it

she took another swing at the robot’s feet to no avail

haru stepped back as she saw the robot begin to charge an attack

haru stood in front of futaba

”oracle, please run!”

”run? why?” futaba was confused

haru lifted her axe above her head so she could block 

“noir no!” futaba tried to stop haru before the robot decided to attack

but before it could there was a huge surge of lighting behind the robot

”comin’ through!!!” ryuji yelled as he kept striking the back of the robot

makoto quickly ran towards haru and futaba “you two ok?” she asked

”we’re fine but what about skull?” futaba asked

”he’ll be fine the rest of the guys are helping skull take him out” makoto informed them

”fox!” mishima called yusuke’s name

”right!”

both mishima and yusuke were trying to take out one of the bot’s legs so that it wouldn’t be able to move as much anymore

”well you guys run off most of the enemies have been taken care of by raven and panther” makoto clashes her fist together before rushing in to battle

”everyone’s so exhausted, I’m surprised they can use their personas” futaba said surprised

“anyways we need to leave and grab joker” makoto told futaba

”but what about the dark mask?” futaba still wanted to get some sort of vengeance against him

”we have no time, we have to leave” makoto told her

she looked to haru “is mona fully healed and ready to move?”

haru nodded “fully healed and ready to go”

”good, I’ll stay here and help the rest of them deal with the boss while you two grab joker and then secure our route out of here

”I’ll need to help panther and raven” futaba told her

”that’s fine, you go do that while we try to stabilize this one” makoto turned around as she got her persona ready “there’s no time to waste!”

makoto ran off to help the other 3 with the executive while futaba and haru ran off

* * *

futaba looked to where ann and shiho were

”noir I’m gonna go help them! deal with joker!” futaba got into her persona as she went to assist the two girls

haru was all alone as she ran back to where her father and morgana was

the two were still standing around not knowing what to do

”has anything changed mona?” she asked morgana

”no, joker is still fighting him off but I can’t tell if he winning or losing” morgana stood there frustrated with himself

”I let all of this happen...I have to help him!” morgana decided

he took out his cutlass “noir, you with me?” 

haru nodded as she took out her axe “let’s do it”

”be safe you two, he’s killed several” okumura warned

the two nodded before running off to ren’s aid

* * *

ren’s movements were beginning to slow down as the drug was starting to take effect on ren

akechi noticed this and wanted to test him a little bit “what’s wrong ren? no more fight in you to keep going?”

ren aimlessly swung his dagger around

his muscles were beginning to seize up

akechi took out the dart gun “maybe a few more should do it”

but before he could shoot another dart into ren a small stone ball plucked his gun straight from his grip

he looked to see morgana and haru stand in front of him with their weapons up and ready for a battle

akechi sighed before kicking ren back far away so he couldn’t interfere in the battle

ren was knocked far away and it looked like he couldn’t even muster the strength to stand back up

”so you’re the last barrier before I can finally complete my objective”

“we’re gonna stop you here traitor!” mona pointed his cutlass at akechi

akechi began to cackle “me!? a traitor!? you have a lot of nerve to say that after you abandoned your group and put them in this situation”

”mona-chan is not a traitor! he is still our near and dear friend and he’s an important part of this group!” haru defended morgana

akechi sighed “believe what you want to believe but just know that some typical cheesy bullshit you just spouted out”

akechi sheathed his sword “but fine then, I’ll play your games”

”you’re not using a weapon?” morgana was confused to see akechi take a more lax stance

”I don’t need it for two complete amateurs” akechi gave a snarky reply

”we’ll show you what’ll happen if you underestimate us!” morgana rushed towards akechi

”predictable...” akechi easily dodged the attack

he then counter by grabbing morgana by the tail before chucking him straight upwards towards he ceiling

”take this!” haru swung her axe at akechi

akechi effortlessly moved out of harm’s way without even breaking a sweat

”this is what you call fighting? there’s no grace in your movements and strikes! it like I’m being attacked by a child”

haru kept swinging around in he exact same pattern

”did you not listen to what I said? are you deaf!?” akechi didn’t understand why haru didn’t try something new or different

”mona! now!”

haru jumped back while akechi stood there dumbfounded

he then looked up to see morgana in the air

he had been stacking as many wind spells as he could on each other before sending it down directly on top of him

”take this!” morgana stacked the last wind spell towards akechi

”crafty..I’ll admit that” akechi said before the wind spells collided with him

morgana landed on the ground next to haru

”did we get him?” morgana asked

”I’ll admit that was very clever of you” the wind spells subsided and akechi popped out of it with barely any new scratches from the attacks

“but I’m an entirely different level than all of you” akechi boasted

”then take this!” haru summoned her persona and she flung a psy spell to akechi

the spell engulfed akechi only to be sent straight back to haru

”what?” haru was thrown off

the attack exploded onto the both of them sending both morgana and haru flying backwards

morgana flew farther than haru 

“makarakarn a move that erects a wall that is impenetrable to any and every magic spell, it’s a very useful move to use against hopeless worms like you”

akechi made his way to haru as he unsheathes his sword 

haru laid down but she knew she was hopelessly outclassed

running wasn’t an option because she would just be shot down almost immediately

attacking wasn't an option either as he could send any attack back to her

she just had to except whatever akechi was planning as she sat up

”might as well do this for good measures” akechi pulled out his last vial from his pockets

he popped it open and he started to coat his sword with it giving it a shiny luster that reflected his face along with his grin

haru didn’t know what to do so she closed her eyes as she waited for akechi to do his worst

a few seconds passed before...

”urgh!” a grunt was heard in front of haru

”I’m surprised you were able to stand back up..” akechi said

haru slowly opened her eyes as she was curious to see what happened

once she did she was horrified to say the least

she couldn’t muster up words to react with

but her shocked and petrified face said it all

”joker...”

ren had attempted to deliver one last final strike to end akechi but akechi had predicted this move

resulting in ren’s dagger being near millimeters from akechi’s neck

and akechi’s sword to be straight through ren’s chest 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn’t the last of it


	100. Uncertainty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now it’s time for the next arc to begin

ren tried to mouth out words but there was no energy left in him to speak 

there were too many voices for him to concentrate on one thing

at this point it seemed that everyone one of his friends and his own father had been speaking over eachother in his head

” **ren.....don’t.....give...** ”  arsene was fading out of existence but he still tried to speak to ren

ren’s arms went down and he dropped his dagger as he went completely numb

the dagger made a metal clang as it hit the floor

akechi smirked “to think I’ve been longing for something like this for so long just to have it a little too soon”

”I’ll be honest with you ren, this part wasn’t in my plan so I’ll allow you to live” akechi chuckled “for now”

”after all your suffering isn’t over. you haven’t seen your friends abandon you yet like you did to me” akechi kept pushing the sword deeper through ren 

ren kept groaning a the sword kept going deeper in him

more of the blood covered tip was exposed on the other side

akechi pushed the sword far enough into ren so he could whisper something in his ear

”but just know that once this is over the phantom thieves will have to deal with one last palace before breaking up” akechi laughed once more “I can’t wait to see your face before then”

akechi smirked before ripping his sword out of ren’s chest

ren fell forward onto the ground with blood pouring from his chest 

akechi flicked the blood off his sword before sheathing it

he crouched down so that ren could hear him “don’t worry ren we’ll meet again...” akechi smiled as he stood back up

ren heard what he said as he was slowly dying on the floor

he tried to scream out his words but the mixture of pain, the voices in his head, his rage and whatever was in those darts were unbearable for his already injured and tired body to handle

akechi moved on from ren and he pulled out his real gun and aimed at haru

“now then you have a two choices. either let me through and you can heal ren or you can sit here and let him bleed out”

haru started to panic as she tried to think it through

”I...” haru didn’t respond with an answer immediately

”time is ticking” akechi was getting impatient 

“I....” haru couldn’t decide with this much pressure on her

”haru go save your friend I’ll deal with him” okumura stepped in front of haru 

“father!” haru called out

”don’t worry about me save your friend. I’ll be just fine right here” okumura smiled at haru as he looked back to her

haru held back her tears and she crawled to ren

okumura looked back to akechi

”so I take that there is no more room for negotiations?” okumura asked

”sorry but I’m all full” akechi replied

okumura sighed “is there no way you can reconsider?” he tried to strike a deal

akechi shook his head “sorry but i can’t have people stand in my way of my plan to take out the person I loathe the most”

”then so be it...do your worst” okumura stood his ground as he stared at akechi

”fine by me” akechi pulled the trigger

okumura took a deep breath before accepting his fate

* * *

haru was healing ren

she focused all over energy into her persona and her strong healing spells

haru tried to ease her mind ”don’t look back...don’t look back..don’t look-“

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

three gun shots rang behind haru signifying that her father was now dead

haru tried her absolute hardest to not break out and cry but a few tears still slipped out

the bleeding was temporarily stopped but the wound was still opened with barely any signs of healing

none of the phantom thieves have had to deal with major injuries that involved deep wounds so this was a first for haru

but deep wounds such as this seemed to take a lot more effort to close

”come on...”

ren’s eyes were still lifeless

”don’t die!” haru pleaded

the palace began to shake intensely

* * *

the rest of the guys and makoto panted as they heard the palace shake violently

”noir must’ve done it” makoto sighed in relief

”woohoo! let’s get out of here!” ryuji cheered with glee to know that 

“where should we go for this celebration?” yusuke asked excitedly

mishima shrugged his shoulders

the four of them abandoned the executive robot and they went to go regroup

* * *

”he..left..” futaba was disappointed to see that the dark mask had left

”it’s ok oracle! we can get him next time” shiho reassured futaba

”let’s just get out of here. okumura must’ve disappeared now“ ann said as she began to retreat

”let’s meet up with mona so we can get out of here” futaba said as she flew away

the other two also ran under her towards the entrance

* * *

everyone regrouped to where morgana was laying down

his head was bobbing around in a circle as he was dizzy from the blast of haru’s psy attack

”mona! I know we’ve had our issues before but we need you right now!” ann yelled

”uh...wha..” morgana was dizzy and dazed

“moooonaaaa” futaba shook morgana around trying to get him to wake up

morgana shook his head around

“huh?” morgana was reasonably confused to see everyone around him

”we need your help” makoto asked him

”hmph, so now you need me?” morgana acted petty as he crossed his arm and looked away

”mona this isn’t time for you to act like a drama queen!!” futaba started to frantically shake morgana around

morgana’s head forcibly bobbed back and forth

”fine I’ll do it!” morgana has to agree in order to get futaba to stop shaking him

futaba went into a full stop as she stared at morgana with a grin ”really!? you’ll help us”

”sure! just stop shaking me!!” morgana yelped

”you will? woohoo! we’re saved! I didn’t have the energy to run out of here”

”well then let’s hurry and get out of here, and someone get noir” morgana requested before turning into a van

”I’ll go get her” ann volunteered

”let me help as well, joker is pretty heavy” ryuji also volunteered 

”also joker is injured, it shouldn’t be nothing serious I think we stopped the dark mask from shooting joker” morgana told them

”shooting him?” mishima asked

”yeah we took the gun off of him” morgana told him

”then we should take it for a closer examination” mishima wished to take it apart and dissect it

”idk maybe it’s just a normal gun” shiho said

”did he shoot joker?” yusuke asked wondering if it was used

”not from what I saw, I think that was his last resort” futaba answered

”whatever let’s save it for later after we gotta get out of here before this place falls to the ground!” ryuji said as he saw a piece of the wall collapse

”alright we’ll drive there so you can transport joker in here” makoto go into the driver’s seat

everyone else started to get in while ryuji and ann went to where haru was

if only they knew what would come next

* * *

they ran over to see haru was kneeling in front of what seemed to be ren

her persona was up but it was flickering, maybe haru was running out of energy

”noir here let me....” ann stepped forward as she assumed haru was trying to heal ren who was probably passed out

but something was wrong

ann stopped behind haru as she saw what she was dealing with

she saw the state ren was in and why haru’s persona was flickering in and out

she has been keeping ren alive this entire time for a few minutes now

but she didn’t have enough energy to keep healing ren 

ann could see that the wound had been a little smaller than what is was previously as ren’s chest slightly showed through the ripped part of his shirt

”j-joker...” ann stuttered as she crouched down

her hands shook profusely as she felt ren’s wound

”w-what happened” ann was near breaking point and she wanted some answers

however haru was too focused on healing ren to notice ann

it seemed that she might already hit her own breaking point

after seeing ren get impales right in front of her and to hear her father die behind her was starting to take a toll on her mind and psyche

”skull!” ann yelled

”yea?” he replied immediately

ryuji didn’t know what happened to make ann yell so strongly

maybe it was just an over injured ren or something he thought

”help us load joker into the back of the van!” ann pointed to the mona van that pulled up behind ryuji

”jeez you don’t have to be so pushy” ryuji said still not understanding what the big issue was

”joker is dying dammit!” ann screamed with emotion

”what? what’re you taking about he’s fine” ryuji didn’t know the truth of the matter

ryuji walked forward to pull ren up only for him to see the hole that was in his chest

ryuji then realized how dire the situation was now ”oh shit! we have to get him in!” ryuji looked to the van

”admin! get your ass over here! joker is dying here!” ryuji shouted

mishima came out as quick as he could

”help me get joker in there before it’s too late” ryuji told him as he grabbed his legs 

mishima nodded as he grabbed his shoulders

yusuke and shiho opened the back doors as they put ren in the back

ann grabbed haru’s hand as she pulled her towards the van

ryuji and mishima put ren in the back of the van 

ann and haru followed inside as they were the ones that were going to attempt to heal him

mishima was then the only one to not be in the van but there was something more important that hit his sight lines

”admin hurry up!” makoto yelled at him

”s-sorry!” mishima ran back and he got inside the back seat of the van

* * *

once everyone entered in makoto immediately started to speed off 

“ren please wake up!” ann didn’t bother using ren’s code name

she tried her hardest as she kept healing ren

the wound was beginning to close very slowly

”ren! wake up!” ann screamed his name

ann was scared to know if ren had really passed on

no she had to keep going

ren couldn’t have died there’s no way

haru summoned her persona as well as she gave it another shot

”noir...” ann saw haru give it another go

”i won’t allow you to die along with my father...you’ve done too much for my sake and now it’s my turn” haru declared

ann saw the resolve in haru’s eyes and she nodded

the two of them tried to heal ren as much as they could before they would eventually escape the palace

meanwhile in the front seat makoto was busy trying to wave her way around the crumbling palace

”how’s joker doing back there?” she yelled

”he’s still wounded but we’re getting there!” ann replied

before when haru was alone in doing she couldn’t get any progress but now that she had ann to help her they were able to speed up the process

eventually they were able to close up the wound entirely

”we did it!” ann was overjoyed to know that ren was now safe and fine

but that’s never the case

ren’s thief outfit was slowly burning up in a blue flame in front of the two

his tattered and ripped outfit was engulfed and it slowly burned away to reveal ren’s normal school attire beneath

ann stared in complete confusion

”huh...” ann tried to shake ren’s shoulders “ren..? you’re ok now..”

ren’s eyes didn’t budge a single bit

”ren! hey! ren!” ann was now starting to lose it

when makoto and haru passed out they still had their phantom thief attire on but this time ren had fully lost it

”ren!” ann kept screaming his name over and over again hoping there would be some reaction with him

haru slumped back as she thought of the worst ”no...he’s gone as well....” haru believed both of them were gone

makoto kept driving the van out of the palace and they all eventually left 

“hold on everyone!” she said as they began to leave the palace

NOW LEAVING, THANK YOU FOR YOUR HARD WORK

* * *

_**The real world** _

they all appeared back into the real world

the first thing that they immediately took notice off was the fact that ren was motionless one the floor

“ren’s not awake?” shiho was worried that ren still wasn’t up

”let’s just help him up and get him somewhere” ryuji said as he grabbed one of his arms and he hoisted him upwards

”he’s still breathing, maybe it’s just a coma” ryuji could hear his breathing

”no way” morgana disputed ryuji “it has to be something worse”

”oh look who decided to pipe up. the traitor that led all of this to happen” ryuji looked at morgana with an angry look

“I didn’t think this would happen!” morgana yelled back at him

”save it for later you two!” makoto scolded the both of them

”if that wound is real than who knows what that might mean” mishima expressed his own thoughts

”let’s get him to a hospital then” haru suggested

”no, he’s already healed up there’s nothing more they can do at this point” morgana told them

”then what should we do?” ann asked

”let’s just take him to leblanc for now and we can ask the doctor he goes to for medicine for some help”

”that sounds like the best thing we can do right now” yusuke liked the plan morgana proposed

”by the way where’s his treasure?” mishima asked

”I have it, or well it’s on the floor” morgana pointed at the box with a spaceship on it

yusuke picked it up and examined it “a plastic model kit” 

“it doesn’t matter now...my father’s dead...” haru didn’t bother with it anymore as it only brought her sad and troubling thoughts

everyone looked on as she called her limo

it wasn’t the best time to talk to haru about it

haru called her limo and the group went back to leblanc

* * *

**_Akechi’s apartment_ **

akechi closed his door and he almost immediately collapsed on the floor

he was breathing heavily as he rested in the floor

”I...did it...” akechi said to himself

he snickered 

“all this time...I finally got something on him....” akechi began to cough rapidly and strongly

some of his saliva dropped on the floor

he wiped his mouth with his sleeve

”I let my guard down too much and I allowed him to kick me and slash me”

akechi didn’t heal when he left the metaverse so his injuries were still there and visible

”good thing I kept some things in my room to help me with this”

akechi took a few breaths before standing up and slowly walking towards his room

”part 1 is over..” akechi grinned sinisterly “now for part 2 to take it’s course with ren”

he laughed as he thought the plan in his head

* * *

_**leblanc** _

everyone gathered around while ren rested on his bed

”so mind telling me what happened this time?” tae said as she looked to the troubled teens

makoto has called doctor takemi over so that she could examine ren

“oh he collapsed...” ann tried to play it off

”very funny but at this point I’m gonna need some answers, unless you don’t have any on you phantom thieves of hearts” tae dropped a huge bombshell on the group as she knew about everyone’s identities 

“how do you know?” yusuke was astonished to know that she knew about them

”let’s just say he helped me with a problem of my own and leave it at that” tae didn’t want to go in depth to what ren had done for her

”that’s fair” haru didn’t mind

”anyways I know that you’re thief excursions are pretty tough so mind filling me in on exactly what happened?” tae wanted answers

”he was...stabbed directly through the chest” haru told her

tae looked at her completely horrified to know what happened to ren

”and he’s still alive?” tae looked over at ren “I don’t see a stab wound here though...or blood for that matter”

”we can heal with medicine or with our abilities so we can patch ourselves up”  yusuke filled her in

”so that’s what he uses my medicines for” tae was interested in how that worked but there was no time to ask

”but the only downside with that is that even though we can patch ourselves up to brand new, we still feel the pain of our injuries until like a day after” ryuji told her

”and for some injuries one could feel them for days and maybe even a week” makoto recalled when her back aches for days when she and the other fought the sugimura bot

”so one could still feel the effects of pain but look like they haven’t been through anything at all” tae began to think all this info through 

“furthermore if one was to have a near death experience it would still induce the shock of death but if they were healed like you say the effects would still linger even though he’s fine” tae kept going on

”so what I gathered is that even though he’s alive he’s still going through the feeling of death and that put him into a coma” tae informed the group

”will he wake up?” ann asked as she didn’t want ren to die without even waking up

”not sure, if anything I’ll come back to make sure that he has a proper way of staying alive, but if it’s not too much to ask why not a hospital? they have better equipment instead of a back alley doctor” tae scratched her head in confusion

”well we thought a hospital wouldn’t be able to help us with ren’s condition and we just assumed he’s resting up anyways” shiho told her

”fair point, something like this is out of normal hospital’s league” tae began to walk off “I’ll get him something so he won’t dehydrate and starve while in his coma”

”I’ll pay for any expenses!” haru told her as she didn’t want to burden her

”thank you but I think the feeling of seeing him better is a more suitable payment than money” tae still owed ren for all the things he’s done for her sake

”umm excuse me! miss!” mishima piped up

”doc is just fine” tae told him

”well doc” mishima pulled out the dart gun that akechi used back in okumura’s palace “I found this and I thought this was used on ren” mishima let tae see the dart gun and the last two darts that was within its chamber

”hmm, this was used on him?” tae asked curious to what exactly had happened 

”we’re not sure exactly” mishima didn’t know and the group didn’t know either

but 4 darts were missing and they didn’t know if they had gone into ren as some point

tae took the gun and she examined it

”I’ll try to examine its contents and I’ll see what I can figure out tomorrow” tae told him

she then left the cafe and she went back to her clinic as she prepared some equipment

everyone stood around with worried and troubled looks on their faces

”so what do we do now?” ann asked the group

”what do you mean?” ryuji didn’t know what she meant

”do we tell boss or not?” 

everyone looked to one another as they didn’t think about this part of the plan

”we have to” makoto didn’t want to keep joss out of this “boss deserves to know and it will only hurt us if we keep putting it off”

”he might listen since we saved futaba and stuff” ryuji figured

”let’s go tell him...” futaba was the first to walk down

* * *

everyone walked downstairs with the same troubled and worried look on their faces

”what with the king faces?” sojiro was confused by everyone’s demeanors

”actually boss...” ryuji didn’t know how to settle it in easier

”...” yusuke didn’t know what to say

”...” shiho didn’t have enough courage to say it as well

”we’re the phantom thieves...” futaba was the one to tell sojiro

sojiro laughed which surprised the group “nice joke you all but if it’s some sort of act I’m not buying it” sojiro didn’t take it seriously

”no, it’s true. we are all part of the phantom thieves and ren is the leader of it” ann told him with the same serious look as futaba

”he’s been at this stuff since he started high school now that I think about it” ryuji remembered that ren started 3 years ago

”this is a joke..right?” sojiro still didn’t get it

the group all shook their heads

sojiro went from a cheerful expression to an outraged look “you’re telling me that I’ve been housing a damn fugitive this entire time!?”

”it’s not like that!” futaba started to panic

”where is he? how come he isn’t the one telling me this? I’m his guardian after all” sojiro was offended to know that ren hadn’t been keeping his head low

”he’s...in a coma right now” ann told him

”a coma? from what?” sojiro asked irately

”we found the person that killed my mom” futaba told him

”what? you’re telling me you found who killed wakaba and that he’s the reason for putting ren in a coma?” sojiro didn’t believe any part of that

”it’s true!” she tried to tell him

”where is ren, I bet he’s just sleeping” sojiro was about to barge upstairs to see ren

but before he could futaba blocked his path

”don’t! without ren i would still be trapped in my room! it’s all because of him that I’m free now!!” futaba defended herself and ren

”what you’re doing is highly dangerous and I need you to stop right this instant” sojiro insisted as he tried to get upstairs but futaba kept blocking his path

”futaba let me through right now!” sojiro yelled at her

”no! it’s because of ren that he let me out, he stole my heart along with everyone else here! they risked their lives just for my sake and they let me join them for my sake as well!”

”what you’re telling me in preposterous and inexcusable” sojiro said loudly

”if it wasn’t for ren I would still be trapped within my own heart! I asked for them to help me and they sent the calling card, ren was the only person after you that I was able to talk to! he comforted me and made sure I would be ok even though he nearly died in the middle of it! if it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t be here anymore!” futaba said without any break in between sentences

she had been tearing up as she spoke her heart out

”futaba...” morgana was astonished to see her have this much energy to speak her mind

sojiro stopped trying to go upstairs and he looked back to the group

”is this the same for all of you too?” he asked

everyone nodded their heads

sojiro exhaled as he rubbed his eyes “so...you asked them for help?”

futaba nodded her head over and over again

”so..he was the one that saved you? and you found the person that killed wakaba..” sojiro said slowly

”you believe she was killed as well don’t you” futaba said

”it was strange how she died and I can’t deny my suspicions but what was I supposed to do in the situation? I was a government official who was told to keep tabs with the laboratory wakaba ran” sojiro revealed

”you were a government official?” ann asked

”an ex gov’t official, I’m retired now but I knew wakaba very well and it’s the reason why I took in ren in the first place due to my connections with his father and because it felt right to me” sojiro told them

”and I took futaba in for that same reason”

”I see...it must’ve been harsh to see it happen and do nothing about it” yusuke thought about what sojiro must’ve went through

”rough..” ryuji didn’t have anything else to say

”it was hard...but is it true that you al are phantom thieves and that ren here is the leader?” he asked once more

”he’s been at this for a while now, for more than 3 years at this point” ann told him

”does anyone else know of this?” he asked

”only a few people but it’s people we can trust and who are good people at heart” makoto reassured him

”well...I think I’ve strained my voice too much with this yelling. fine then, I’ll let you continue on with this deal but make sure you stay safe and try not to picked fights with people you can’t beat”

”I think we learned that by now..” haru said with a sad smile

”anyways I’ll close shop up early...I need time to think this over” sojiro hung his apron up

”we’ll stay here for a little bit more” ann told him

”try not to make a mess”

sojiro left the cafe

* * *

“now that that’s over what do we do now?” ryuji asked

everything had been settled with, explaining sojiro about the thieves situation and the doctor setting up some equipment for ren

”I’m going to go home...I’m tired” futaba stretched her arms

“then it’s best that we all go home and think about it tomorrow” makoto advised

everyone went home one by one besides ann and haru

norgana had gone upstairs to keep a close eye on ren

ann had kept haru behind

”haru...your father died in the palace?” she asked

”yes...the dark mask made me gamble between my father or ren but I couldn’t choose. that’s when my father stepped in and did it for me by sacrificing himself to the dark mask” haru told her

”you must be heartbroken” she tried to confront her

”not really I’m fine honest” haru tired to smile through the pain

”it’s ok to cry haru, none of us will judge you for it..”

”oh ann-chan I....I...I-“ haru began to sob

”it’s ok I’m here to help you..” ann hugged haru

“I was so weak, he tossed my attacks aside like they were nothing as then he forced me to choose..I didn’t know what to choose as I didn’t know if I wanted to be selfish or selfless..” haru kept crying in ann’s arms

”it’ll be ok haru..all of us are here for you...”

ann comforted haru for the duration until the two eventually left the cafe

* * *

_**Velvet room** _

caroline tapped her baton in her hands

”he’s not dead is he?” she asked as she wondered if ren had died or not

”no...that’s impossible the trickster should be strong enough to survive” justine didn’t know either

”what if our training wasn’t enough make him stronger” caroline was worried about ren

”don’t worry caroline everything that we did was just as how it was meant to be done..right?” justine wasn’t sure herself

”even you don’t know?” caroline was surprised to see justine having trouble grasping her head around these things

”it seems so” justine shook her head as she could wrap her head around it 

”now let’s see how your confidents hold you together trickster..” igor laughed

caroline looked to justine for answers but justine just shrugged her shoulders as she was equally as confused as caroline

”now then the real test, whether or not the bonds you formed are strong enough to bring you out of this predicament..”

igor laughed once more as he tapped his finger on his desk

”how interesting things have played out”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright big speech to celebrate 100 chapters
> 
> So then it’s nearly been a year and I’ve managed to write more than 100 chapters of this fanfic
> 
> I’m surprised and thankful to anyone that decided to take the time out the day to read my first story that I’ve put out there for people to see it means a lot
> 
> As for me I’ve managed to grow my comprehension on how to write a story and I hope that I have been improving thus far and that i haven’t been a bit a bore 
> 
> I’m glad to know that complete strangers are willing to pass the time of day for something like that and I hope you’ll company me to the end of this story
> 
> I never thought I’d somehow turn this from just a time killer into something I actually enjoy doing in my spare time and I appreciate it
> 
> As for the story I plan to explains my horizons and test to see how well I can fare with this new arc and an entirely new side of the story which I’ve teased for nearly the entire duration
> 
> an experimental part that I’ve been tweaking since the beginning of this story and one which I’ve always wanted to allude to but never knew exactly how
> 
> but there are some this small pieces of info that I’ll keep away until the time is right for them to shine
> 
> Thank you again, I appreciate all of you that have read this far and that have taken the effort to read this story and I hope you will indulge with me into this next arc


	101. Downhill

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 100 chapters in...and it’s finally time! I’ve been waiting for this since I started writing this fanfic

_**Night - Haru’s suite** _

haru walked into her living room after returning from leblanc

she noticed her father on the couch alive and well

”father...” haru knew what the outcome of her fathers fate would turn out to be

”ahh haru!” her father stood up from the couch and he greeted her with a warm smile

”father..?” haru didn’t expect this reaction from him

”good morning, how are you doing?” 

“fine as always” haru was still trying to adjust to her father’s new behavior

”well I have some good news to tell you” 

“what is it?” haru was curious

”I have called off the marriage and I’ve decided that my company needs a different change of pace so I’ve announced that early morning I will hold an emergency press conference”

”wait father I don’t think that’s a good idea” haru tried to tell her father

”nonsense, right after I’m done and once you come back from school we will go out like a family again like the good old days”

haru tried to keep telling him off but she didn’t have the willpower to do so

”I can’t wait..” haru said with a bleak smile

”good! I’ve made reservations of a famous restaurant too. now head for bed so that you can get a rest before school” 

okumura was smiling and he was more caring than before

but that wouldn’t last and haru knew it well

as haru walked away she stopped to get one last glimpse of her father

she turned back and went to her room

* * *

_**Early morning** _

it was the press conference with okumura

okumura had a calm expression as he stood in front of the podium

”I am thankful for all that decided to attend this sudden and out of the blue press conference” 

“I know that one this early into the morning would be troublesome for those that wished to attend but I have a few announcements to make”

”mainly about my company’s labor situations and to answer those questions”

”yes, my company was very lax with out sanitation and our workers were forced to work under severe and unsafe conditions”

”in an effort protect the name and brand we plugged up every single news article that attempted to discuss this topic in order to save face”

”and now I have come here to apologize for every single thing that has happened under my watch”

okumura bowed in front of the journalist

one of the journalist asked a question “mr. okumura were you the one solely responsible for all this?”

okimura nodded “to put it simply, yes...I was the one that forced all of this to happen”

another journalist spoke up ”what about the employees and officials who had to resign for mysterious illnesses along with executives from other competing companies who were looking to expand abroad along with your company? was that a coincidence or a planned attack?”

“yes, all of this was planned none of what had occurred during those times were coincidental”

”how so?” another journalist asked

”it was all because of...”

okumura held his chest tightly

”because of...” okumura was struggling to speak and he began to cough violently 

”mr. okumura?” a journalist asked 

soon enough okumura began to cough up a black fluid that spewed from his eyes, nose and mouth

his eyes rolled to the back of his head 

okumura fell to the ground but with the last bit of strength left in him he lifted his head up and he looked to the camera

everyone in the room panicked as they went to call paramedics

the live recording cut off and instead showed a repeating png of a bear waving his hand up and down

* * *

_**Clinic** _

tae was finalizing her findings on that weird dart gun that mishima had given her

she was taking apart every component of the mysterious liquid that was in the darts themselves

she hypothesized that at least one do the four darts had been injected into ren at least

the two darts that were left had been filled with the same amount and the same substance

”this is troubling..” tae figured out some of the components

it wasn’t looking too good as she noticed that some of them were dangerous but there were some that she didn’t know what it was

but she could assume that 

”if he really did get injected with any of these he wouldn’t be able to wake up by now”

tae then thought about it for a second

”guess I’ll let his caretaker know about this”

tae stood up from her chair and she went to leblanc

* * *

_**A random outdoor cafe** _

sae shook her head as she stared at her laptop

she was replaying the same video of the live footage of okumura’s death

this was unheard of since the phantom thieves killing their target was unheard of

and almost immediately once the video was put out on the internet for the people to see nearly every news from a 50 mile radius of Tokyo was reporting on it

it spread around like wildfire

sae tried to decipher all of her notes and information and then compare it to the footage but none of it was clicking in yet

sae rested her head in her hands as she tried to think

”having trouble?” a familiar voice said

sae looked over to see kazuma walk to her

”sorry but-“

”listen I get you have a grudge against me and that’s fine but this news is important and ground breaking for the both of us. save your hatred for me another time” kazuma wasn’t messing around

”you seem a bit on edge” sae noticed

“I’ve been told that my son is severely ill as of now and with that and this new case the entire station and force have been scrambling” kazuma informed her

”that and I was told to investigate the okumura household for any evidence” kazuma had a lot piled on his plate in just a matter of hours

”I apologize, I didn’t think you were going through this much” 

“it’s all right but i also wanted to trade some notes”

”such as?”

”mr. okumura called the police because of the calling card that he received. it may a complete conspiracy but I think the phantom thieves may have nothing to do with it, or maybe there was a fight in between” kazuma tried to tie things together

”true, but I guess we have to team up as I’m also being told to investigate the okumura household as well” sae told him

”if you’re investigating that with me then what about the high school?” kazuma asked

”akechi is handling the school while we handle okumura’s case” sae told him

”then I hope we can get along” kazuma nodded

”just know I’m only doing this because of how dire the situation has become and not because I forgive you” sae stressed

”fine then but I have some other things to attend to” kazuma turned away and walked off

sae looked back to her laptop “I’m closer I know it”

* * *

_**Ren’s attic** _

tae did a few a more tests 

she had hooked ren up to a feeding tube just so he didn’t starve and dehydrate whilst in his coma

tae was also accompanied by morgana and sojiro

morgana was on the edge of ren’s bed watching tae write some things down

sojiro just stood behind her wondering what she was doing

tae sighed and then shook her head

”this is worse than I thought” tae said out loud grabbing both sojiro’s and morgana’s attention

”what do you mean?” sojiro asked

”I have a feeling that he might not be able to wake up from his coma” tae turned and told him

both sojiro and morgana were shocked about this

”you mean to tell me he might never wake up and he’ll just stay like this? what am I supposed to tell his parents? I’ve already informed his father about this ‘illness and now this?” sojiro panicked at the thought of having to tell a close friend that their child who was under his care died

”I’m not sure what happened to him but whatever it is..” tae stopped to look at ren “I don’t suppose that the teens told you?” she asked

”about what?” sojiro asked feigning ignorance

”about him being apart of the phantom thieves” 

“oh that...yeah I know” sojiro sighed just thinking about that

”well I’m not sure if this has anything to do with it but one of them gave me something that may have been injected into him”

morgana’s ears went rock solid as he had to listen into every word that came out of tae’s mouth

“injected?” sojiro asked confused 

“ask the kids about it they might know a few things or two. but after analyzing the substance that one of them gave me it seems ren’s coma may be slowly killing him”

”you’re telling me he’s dying right in front of us!?” sojiro said extremely horrified to hear such news

”it seems so, it’s like his brain is in a state of suffering as if his mind is being chained down and forced to stay asleep”

”so is there a way to wake him up?” sojiro asked a little frantic for at least something to help the boy out

tae shook her again as she didn’t have a true cure ”I only have something that might relieve his brain a little but it’s not a definite treatment that’ll help him”

”do you think a hospital will help him?” sojiro at least wanted something

”to keep him alive maybe but it will only prolong the inevitable” tae told him

”is that all that there is?” sojiro began to give up

”I’m sorry that I don’t have anything else to report” tae began to walk towards the stairs “I’ll be taking my leave”

tae left the attic

sojiro sighed “so this is it huh”

morgana tried to think of a solution with all of the info that he was given

sojiro walked over and he pet the cat

”sorry we can’t do anything about him”

sojiro stopped and then walked away

morgana shook his head “so this really is it...”

* * *

_**Afterschool rooftops** _

”this is so bullshit!” ryuji stomped his foot against the ground

mishima and ryuji had gone up to the rooftops alone to discuss some things

”everyone is turning on us” mishima kept scrolling on the phan-site “our approval rating is dropping really fast

”it’s all morgana’s fault!!” ryuji ran up and punched the wall out of frustration “DAMNIT!” ryuji recoiled his hand

”ryuji calm down” mishima tried to calm ryuji down since his screaming might draw attention

”dude how can I!? first morgana leaves because of some stupid reason, then he shows up with the guy who’s been killing people in the metaverse and now ren is in a coma and all of a sudden we’re the bad guys” ryuji spewed

”we have to keep calm ryuji, what would ren do in this situation?”

”you’re right, even though ren was probably the most reckless one out of all of us he could still make choices without stressin’ about it” ryuji told himself

ryuji scratched his head “man but I can’t stop thinking about it though”

“it’s really surreal but I feel so bad for haru“ mishima said as he tried to think about what haru was going through

”shit I didn’t even think about her, she has to deal with her dad dying and ren getting stabbed right in front of her eyes. that shit must be tough”

”well what are we supposed to do? we can’t go for a big shot because everyone’s too worried about all of this crap and we don’t have any targets anymore for mementos” ryuji kept going

ryuji sighed “maybe this is the end of the phantom thieves...” ryuji was on the brink of giving up

”no!” mishima looked angry just thinking about quitting “ren gave us this power to help people out and I won’t quit no matter what!”

”you know” ryuji skilled as he looked at mishima’s fiery eyes “maybe there is a chance I mean ren could be awake any second by now” ryuji was optimistic again

”I doubt that but he’s alive at least” mishima said

”maybe but why don’t we just clear our names while ren is asleep” ryuji suggested

”why don’t we go to mementos then? that might work” mishima pulled out his phone and opened the metanav

”dude! not here!” ryuji told him

ryuji and mishima both received a message from futaba

ryuji checked the message and read it aloud

[F: meet up at the hideout right now]

[F: sojiro has some news]

”ooh! maybe he’s awake” ryuji said hoping his intuition was right 

“not likely but who knows, let’s just go and see him” ryuji opened the door to the rooftops in order to go down

mishima stuffed his phone into his back pocket and he followed him

he was completely unaware that his phone was left open 

* * *

_**Morning show** _

a live tv broadcast of an morning show that was currently interviewing with akechi

[it seems that everything you’ve been saying about the thieves has been true akechi-kun]

[not to be arrogant but it’s what I’ve been saying this entire time, the phantom thieves are just criminals who impersonate themselves as heroes, I believe they’ve even killed other targets as well]

[are you saying that this isn’t the first incident!?] the host was shocked

[of course not this was just another murder for them. perhaps they’ve done this to other people as well]

[fascinating, so it seems you were right all along]

[thats just how it works it seems]

akechi laughed

* * *

_**Leblanc** _

ryuji and mishima arrived into the cafe along with everybody else

the two entered in and they saw a man wearing an overcoat waiting for them

he stood in front of the counter where sojiro and futaba were

“so are you my son’s friends?” he asked

”and who are you?” mishima gulped as he was  pretty startled by his intimidating presence

”wait son?” ryuji asked confused by what he meant

”yes I’m his father Kazuma Amamiya, I wanted to see the friends that my son has made over the past months just so that I'm informed” kazuma assured

”well yeah we’re both ren’s friends” ryuji told him nervously

”oh that’s good!” kazuma laughed but he once again made a frown “well I’ve been told there more of you? yes?” 

ryuji nodded “yeah there’s a few others

”I’m glad to know that my son has gained a few new friends along the way here” kazuma rubbed the back of his head “anyways I’ll take my leave here as I have some very important business to attend to”

mishima and ryuji sat at one of the booth seats

”hey before you go what’s with the overcoat?” ryuji asked

”you like it? it’s my detective wear for all my crime fighting needs” he karate chopped the air and laughed

ryuji and mishima looked at eachother dumbfounded

”uhh..what?” ryuji didn’t know how to respond

”it’s an ability of his, making situations awkward” futaba spoke up

”are you really ren’s dad?” mishima asked with an eyebrow raised

”why does everyone say that? of course I am, we even look alike!” kazuma tried to defend himself

everyone in the cafe stared at him blankly

kazuma made an angry face “what!? is it so hard to believe that ren is my son?”

”yeah..it kinda is” futaba said bluntly

kazuma was taken aback by futaba’s straightforwardness “you didn’t have to say it out front like that!”

”sheesh how many times do I have to say it? what do I have to go out like a robot saying ‘I am the father of ren amamiya’ in order for people to stop second guessing me?” kazuma said over dramatically

mishima and ryuji looked at him like he was insane

kazuma sighed as he scratched his head “I’m a detective that have been sent to Tokyo for some very important duties, it worked well because I was able to get ol soji’ here to take in ren for me”

”a detective?” mishima asked

”yep, and I have a lot on my plate now since the phantom thieves murdered the ceo of okumura foods”

everyone immediately grew nervous as he said that

”now that that’s happened everyone is in a frenzy now because of it, I swear if this continues people are going to have be admitted to asylums and hospitals just to stay sane”

”sounds rough” mishima said

”it is, first I have to deal with the heart thief who doesn’t have an exact location, all the mental shutdown cases and now the phantom thieves who’ve only committed acts of terrorism in Tokyo”

”the heart thief..?” sojiro asked as he didn’t know about this part 

“yeah, there were several calling cards sent at a few places but they were mainly seen in Kyoto, but there was a few that were sent to Tokyo before”

sojiro shook his head as he thought about ren “seems like he really was at it” he mumbled

futaba nudged him and whispered “I told you”

”the heart thief though...why an odd name” sojiro commented

”what was that?” kazuma asked as he didn’t hear what he said

”nothing, it’s nothing” sojiro insisted

”well it was nice meeting you two and I wish I could’ve stuck around but I have to take my leave” kazuma waved his hand “see ya”

kazuma left the cafe

”well then what’s the news?” ryuji asked curious

”yeah! you haven’t told me yet” futaba wasn’t told about what the big news was

“when everyone gets here but while we’re at it gather upstairs”

”kay” futaba zoomed upstairs

”well let’s go up then” ryuji stood up from the booth seats

mishima nodded and he followed ryuji upstairs

* * *

the three went upstairs and they saw morgana just sitting at the edge of ren’s bed

”mona..” futaba said 

“hey..” morgana barely lifted up his head to notice the three

”that damn-“ ryuji was about to yell at morgana

mishima stopped him by grabbing his shoulder “at least wait, ren would’ve given him a chance”

”bringing up ren again huh? fine but as soon as he says something I’m not holding back” ryuji vowed

the four sat around waiting for everyone to arrive

* * *

once everyone arrived they all piled into the attic

”so everyone’s here now” sojiro said as he stood near the stairs while everyone stood or sat in front of him

”so why have you gathered us here?” yusuke asked

”well it’s because...” sojiro took a deep breath “I’m considering moving him to a hospital, it seems ren doesn’t have long to live” sojiro told everyone

”w-what do you mean he doesn’t have long to live?” shiho asked afraid to know the answer

”ren is dying, his coma is slowly killing him. whatever you kids did or fought it injected ren with something and he’s stuck in a never ending coma” sojiro started to raise his voice but he caught himself

”no..I told myself I wouldn’t get mad” sojiro said to himself

sojiro turned and began to walk down the stairs “I’m sorry I have to leave so soon but I have to find a way to tell his father, I only mentioned that he was sick”

sojiro left

”you’re telling me ren...is going to die..?” ann fell to her knees

”we’re backed up in a corner and now this” mishima started to freak out

”I...” haru couldn’t handle knowing this

”it’s...”futaba caressed her knees to her face

”so this is how it ends...” yusuke didn’t expect this to happen but he gloomed over it regardless

makoto stood silently as she thought about in her head

”there is still a chance, maybe there’s a way we can fix things” morgana tried to lift everyone’s spirits

no one budged

”come on guys, just because we’re on the back end doesn’t mean we can give up” morgana again tired to reignite everyone’s spirits

”I don’t wanna hear that bullshit from you!” ryuji yelled as he looked to morgana

morgana was startled by ryuji’s tone

”it’s all because of you!...IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT DAMNIT!!” ryuji had tears in his eyes as he grabbed morgana by the collar

everyone noticed ryuji’s uproar

“I have to stand here and hear that my best friend is going to die all because of a stupid cat who was selfish enough to bring a murderer along with him!!” ryuji kept yelling

”look around! do you think any of us can turn shit around after we got our asses whopped by him. you think we can function without a leader?” ryuji let all of his emotions run about

”I can be leader..?” morgana tried to say

poor choice of words on morgana’s part

before ryuji could rev his fist up to punch morgana in his face makoto and mishima stopped him

”ryuji! that’s enough you can’t release your anger onto morgana!” makoto yelled at him

”you think I care enough! it’s all because of him that Japan probably the entire world is a against us!” ryuji kept trying to power through both makoto and mishima

”stop it you guys!” shiho tried to separate morgana from ryuji

”you leave me no choice!” mishima jumped onto ryuji’s back

”hey! wait I’m slipping!” ryuji let go of morgana and he started to stumble backwards

he and mishima crashed onto the floor

CANDIDATE FOUND, NOW TRAVELING

everyone picked their heads up as they were all alarmed by the robotic voice that came from mishima

mishima had his phone on this entire time since school and the tumble accidentally made mishima push the button on the nav

soon everything started to change around them

* * *

_**???’? ??????** _

everyone fell onto a small grassy island

they all sat up and they realized they were in the thief uniforms

”where the hell are we?” ryuji shot you and asked as he saw they are in absolutely nowhere

”I think I left my phone on!” mishima realized 

“you idiot where did we spawn?” ryuji scolded him

”who’s palace is this?” shiho asked

” **it’s about time you all showed up** ” a mysterious voice said behind them

everyone looked behind them to see where the voice was coming from

it was a floating ghostly winged figure with black wings, a red suit and a top hat that was currently speaking to him

” **we don’t have time to waste** ” he said

”what are you?” makoto asked

“the better question is where are we?” yusuke said as they still didn’t know where they were

” **you still don’t know? didn’t you figure it all out?** ” he assumed that they all knew about this palace 

“no? we’re we supposed to” ann didn’t understand what was happening

“wait you look familiar..” futaba felt like she knew who this winged phantom was

” **at least you all made it here in one piece..** ” he shook his head

” **anyways it seems you all don’t know where you all are..** ”

”yeah..mind answering that for us?” ryuji said as he was puzzled to know where they were

he sighed “ **I’m arsene, and you are currently inside ren’s palace** ” arsene looked upwards as he spoke

everyone looked past arsene to see the huge floating building that was tied down by 8 chains

what the group was staring at wasn’t an ordinary place..it was an asylum

ren’s asylum

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> now it’s finally time I get into what I wanted to do in the first place
> 
> I hope I thought of it clearly as Me and a friend thought either a jail or an asylum
> 
> But I thought an asylum could be used a bit better than a prison


	102. The asylum

_**Ren’s asylum** _

”what do you mean ren’s palace? that can’t be possible! we get rid of our shadows if we gain a persona, isn’t that how it works?” shiho didn’t understand how ren grew a palace

” **it is unless you take out one’s persona and in turn strengthen one’s corrupted thoughts to the point to where it forces a palace to grow** ”

”but aren’t you his persona? and what about the others?” haru asked

” **I’m just a cognition that ren created for the rest of the personas he had must’ve vanished along with me** ”

” **all I am now is just a recurrent thought in ren’s mind that has no real say in this place** ”

”but how is that possible?” ann asked “was it because he was stabbed?”

” **ren was shot by the darts that was contained in the gun akechi had, the sword through the chest was an unplanned bonus that forces the thoughts of death in one’s mind and it cuts our deadline by a huge margin** ”

”you know about that..?” morgana asked

arsene sighed “ **guess I have to explain a few things** ”

” **first, I have been speaking to ren since he awakened. second, what ren was injected with was a type of drug that can force someone’s desires to be strong enough to force a palace to form even through a persona. third, he was shot with 3 of the darts which means this palace is stronger than any other you’ve faced so far. anything else?** ”

”how do you know what was in them? is it like you can feel what ren feels?” ryuji asked

arsene sighed while facepalming “ **this’ll be long** ” arsene looked back to the asylum and it’s chains that tied it down

the chains represented how long they had until ren’s palace would leave this world signifying his eventual death if he never wakes up

“ **look we don’t have time for this so let’s cut this short** ” arsene don’t want to waste anymore time

”right ren’s dying we can’t afford to waste time” ann said as she walked forward next to arsene

“ok but since you know everything that has happened to ren I want to know something” futaba spoke up

” **what is it?** ”

”does ren know who my mom is?” this was a burning question that futaba always wanted to know about ren but she never got an answer from him

“ **to be frank..yes, ren knew your mother as he was one of the assistants that she had to help her with her research** ”

”wait does that mean he knew what happened to oracle’s mom?” makoto asked as she tried to fit the pieces on her own

arsene nodded ” **he knew all right, after all him and akechi used to be partners** ”

everyone looked at arsene in complete and total shock as they all were caught off guard by this new information

”you mean to tell us that they worked together?” yusuke couldn’t comprehend this fact

”why didn’t ren tell us any of this?” haru asked 

” **he’s afraid, ren’s always been afraid to tell the truth if it means that people will go against him. I have a feeling that might be apart of this palace** ”

arsene began to float up to the entrance of the asylum

particularly a small button that was near the giant door

“ **I need one of you to shoot this button here** ” 

”raven, this is up your alley” mishima cheered shiho on

”well I guess i have no choice” shiho took out her rifle and aimed at the large button

she took the first shot and it hit the button directly

stairs began to form from the asylum itself down to the island below

”holy crap i hit it first try” shiho was surprised that she hit something like that from so far away

”anyways we have to keep moving, maybe arsene knows a bit more about this place” makoto told everyone

”...” futaba was silent as she still tried to take in everything that she heard

they all walked up the stairs and they reached where arsene was waiting for them

” **before we go in I want to warn all of you. remember how I said that there was a drug that forced palaces in people?** ”

”what about it? is there some kinda catch?” ryuji replied 

“ **that drug was strengthened to an unhealthy state and since ren was hit by 3 of them we might experience some of those effects as well** ”

” **I’d wager that things in this palace will be almost impossible to differentiate from reality to the point the where it’ll act like we were actually there** ” arsene hypothesized

” **even so are you all willing to go inside and change ren’s heart?** ”

everyone nodded 

“I’m not letting ren die here!” ann told him with a straight and determined face

” **good answer, now let’s open the door** ”

* * *

they opened the giant front entrance and entered inside

it was an empty entrance hallway with several photos of ren as a baby and child plastered around on the walls

” **so we start with him as a child** ”

”there’s not much in here” mishima remarked

” **well there’s nothing really bad that happened to him when he was a child** ”

they kept walking forward

”so you finally show up” a voice from above them

there were chandeliers that lit the hallway up above them

everyone looked up to see a ren look alike with no glasses along with wearing his casual wear 

“what is that?” mishima asked

” **another one of ren’s cognitions, perhaps what he thinks of himself?** ”

”you’re completely wrong with that one arsey boy” he smirked as he dropped down to greet the group

he looked very smug as he had his hands in his pockets

”yeah I don’t see anything that makes him ren’s shadow, he’s too much of a..“ morgana spoke

”an overly pompous asshole?” shiho commented

”come on don’t be like that, I’m apart of ren too” the fake said with the same smug smile on him

”which part would that be?” yusuke asked

”his nightmares” he began to laugh “well only a sliver of what’s in that messed up head of his”

“just get on with it before we smash your head in!” ryuji yelled at him as he didn’t wanna mess around

he was still mad from when he nearly punched morgana

“no need to be so rude blondie I’m just trying to help” the fake commented while snickering

” **you’re gonna waste our time? or?** ” arsene grew tired of the fake already

“I’m getting to that. I assume you wish to know where the treasure is?”

”yeah...but not from you” makoto replied 

“so you don’t want this?” the fake held out a map in his hand and he swayed it around playfully “come on don’t you need it?” he kept laughing in front of them

ann walked up to him and snatched the map from him 

“heh, so you’re the one that ren hold feelings for. you certainly hold a special place in his mind” he remarked

”what’s that supposed to mean..?” ann said angrily

”it’s nothing sweetheart. no need to get all angry about it”

”don’t patronize me” ann snapped back

”whatever” the fake walked ahead of the group “I’ll give you some info about this place, there’s 6 floors and the treasure you all seek is on the top floor but you all with have to slog through all those other floors to reach there”

he began to laugh loudly as he reached the end of the entrance hall “good luck, you’ll need it for this sick and twisted place but looking at it here”

his face looked cold, dead and serious as he stared at the group

”it seems that ren has a special place for all of you from what I can tell”

”you’re gonna see how much shit he has gone through” he cackled

he left without another word

his laugh echoed through the hall

”so that wasn’t what ren saw himself as?” haru asked

“ **no that’s just a weaker cognition** ”

”but there’s 6 floors..right?” makoto said put loud

makoto looked over to futaba “oracle can you scan for us?”

futaba nodded as she went into her ufo

after some waiting futaba came back to them and confirmed the info that they were given “he’s wasn’t lying about this place, it’s 6 floors and the treasure all the way at the top”

”this place has a bunch of rooms and some weird symbols on it” ryuji pointed out as she looked at the map

” **let me see** ” arsene looked at the map

” **seems there’s a requirement for each floor in order to go up to the next one in to go. in other words we have to go through whatever is in this place I order to save ren** ”

“do you have any idea on what could be waiting inside?” makoto asked

arsene sighed “ **no...I don’t know what could be lying ahead. ren was always a mysterious person...it took me a long time before he would reply to me...but there’s something lying in wait for us..I know it** ”

” **so, shall we continue?** ” arsene asked as he looked to the others

”it’s late, I’m going to bed..” futaba was the first to leave without another word

everyone watched as futaba silently left 

”i mean it is pretty late I think we should rest up our minds and prepare ourselves for tomorrow. sorry arsene but it was late outside when we came in here” makoto apologized to arsene

” **it’s fine, we shall continue tomorrow, I’ll be waiting until your arrival** ”

everyone began to leave the asylum 

once everyone left the door to the entrance hall closed shit once again

” **I think I now understand what akechi meant. one more place before the breakup...I just have to hope they are strong enough..** ”

* * *

_**Ren’s attic** _

everyone appeared back into the attic

everyone except futaba since she must’ve left way earlier than the rest

”so this is reality...” ann looked to ren

she walked over to him and she caressed his sleeping face “ren has a palace..”

”I still don’t believe it myself” yusuke commented

”it’s real alright, but what did arsene mean by ‘ren and akechi used to be partners’ that cant be real. I mean we saw how ren reacted when he saw akechi...unless” mishima started to connect the dots

”unless ren and akechi really did work together. that would explain why akechi kept taunting ren over and over again” makoto finished what mishima was thinking

”still we have to save ren, I can’t let him win after betraying and lying to me like this” morgana didn’t want it to end like this

”you-“ before ryuji could burst into a rage he stopped himself

“it doesn’t look weak either” shiho remarked how menacing the asylum looked to her

”listen I understand that everything that has happened may put some stress on us but we have to keep our heads down no matter what, we can’t draw any attention to ourselves” makoto advised to everyone

”akechi knows who we are probably so it’s only time before he strikes” ryuji shook his head

”just listen to what she says” morgana snapped at ryuji

ryuji looked down to morgana “listen here I’m not gonna forget all the shit you’ve done, I’m only working with you since we have to but I’m not holding back once everything is back to normal ya got that!?” ryuji warned morgana

he was still pissed off at him for what he had done

”I’m out of her I need to cool off my head” ryuji stomped off out of the cafe

”hey! wait up” mishima ran after ryuji

”I guess this is where we disband for now” yusuke left as well

”ann..come on let’s go home” shiho said to ann

ann silently nodded and they both left without speaking another word

makoto left quietly with a disgruntled look on her face

haru looked to morgana “have a good nights rest mona-chan” haru left as well

now it was just morgana and ren all alone

all silent and dark as haru has turned off all the lights for morgana

morgana had his head down as he rested on the edge of ren’s bed “i really messed up big time huh ren”

ren of course didn’t give a response

”...” morgana slept as he tried to think over about what had happened over these past few weeks


	103. Place of nightmares

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hey I made it to 10k hits!
> 
> Nice
> 
> Also don’t get your hopes up about me trying to do a whole dungeon design, I would probably end up stressing about it more than I’d have to and I already have enough stressing to do as is
> 
> You know I say that yet I’m still looking at too many pictures of abandoned asylums as I try to figure out a way to describe all of this the best way I can

_**School - Class 2-D** _

”I knew that phantom thieves shouldn’t be trusted”

”akechi was right all along”

”when are they gonna be arrested?”

people kept talking about the phantom thieves and akechi over and over again as ann sat at her desk alone

it sickened her as she heard of that name get repeated

akechi goro this- akechi goro that-

after finding out who he truly was it pissed her off

but it didn’t make sense when she put two and two together

ren knew who the culprit was and they even ran into him once yet he never told them about it

there must’ve been a whole different side of ren that he never talked about but it made perfect sense the more pieces she put together

why ren acted so strange whenever something involving futaba’s mom or his past was brought up

but then she thought

”what if ren also killed people?” she said to herself quietly 

the bell rang and class began

her mind was glued to that thought as she tried to think of it more and more

she could focus on class but she was way too busy trying to figure out what all of this meant

_“ren and akechi worked together”_

_”ren knew all about futaba’s mom’s death but he never said anything about it”_

_”and there’s no doubt about if arsene told the truth or not”_

_”something as crazy as that wouldn’t just come out of nowhere and it doesn’t help that akechi also said something about ren being involved”_

_”arsene knows what ren has been through and he’s even faced the same exact issues”_

_”but what does this mean..”_

”takamaki!” the teacher yelled at ann

”hmm..?” ann looked up only to be hit with a piece of chalk

”pay attention”

”sorry” ann rubbed her forehead

* * *

_**Okumura household** _

”so there was only a calling card here?” kazuma asked referring to the head maid

”yes” reiko relied “that was the only thing that ever sent, I saw it on our doorstep and then gave it to mr. okumura” 

“so that’s the only evidence we’ll find” sae remarked

”I’m sorry I could not help you with your investigations” reiko apologized

”it’s fine but it seems that the trail ends here, but I have a different hunch” kazuma said

”oh? is this about the other victim kaneshiro?” sae asked

”definitely but we don’t have anymore leads until akechi investigates shujin”

”then it seems we’re done here” sae turned to face reiko “sorry for our sudden intrusions” sae apologized

“it’s fine but I hope that your investigation goes well” reiko bowed

”by the way the daughter of mr. okumura is in school? correct?” kazuma asked

reiko shook her head “the young miss is attending her father’s funeral until the afternoon, I’m just keeping watch”

”I wouldn’t want to break the young girl by interrogating her right after this” kazuma put his feelings over the job

”I think we should, she might be able to give good answers” sae insisted the opposite

”we can’t just go and force answers out of someone like that” kazuma didn’t like how sae was going about things

”we’ll never know if we don’t push further”

”it doesn’t matter she isn’t here so we might as well leave” kazuma walked away towards the elevator

sae shook her head out of frustration “this is why I didn’t want to work with you”

* * *

_**Afterschool - Ren’s attic** _

nearly everyone arrived to the attic

the latest one to arrive was now yusuke

the current meme bet that we’re missing were: haru, makoto and ryuji

everyone sat quietly as the table that they formed up in ren’s attic

they sat around but nothing went on with anyone

yusuke stood on top of the stairs looking at everyone

”why is everyone so quiet?” he asked as he stared at everyone

no one responded or even looked at yusuke’s direction

”are you all alright?”

”yeah...” futaba slowly nodded but she still kept her head down

”we thought about it more...and there’s no denying it” ann started “ren really worked with akechi” ann still couldn’t fathom it

”...” futaba sat there as she took in the fact that ren knew exactly how her mom died yet he never told her anything

”and? we don’t know for certain that ren was involved in the murders. for all we know akechi might’ve tricked ren as he did with morgana” yusuke gave out his stance on it

”but he still knew all about it” shiho said

”that might be a normal response for ren, he didn’t tell anyone about kasumi and I believe he’s the only one who knew what happened to her” morgana had a point and he wanted to express it

”morgana’s right. keeping things hidden and away is just how ren handles things” ann took yusuke’s side as she knew it better than the rest of them and it hurt knowing it

”I won’t accept it...” futaba spoke up

everyone looked over at futaba

”there’s no way ren and akechi ever worked together I’ll never accept it! there’s no way” futaba couldn’t come to terms with it

”I wouldn’t put it past you” shiho didn’t try to dispute futaba

the air became silent once more

”by the way where are the other 3?” yusuke broke the silence and asked where the rest of the group were

”haru is attending her father’s funeral, makoto is finishing her student council work and ryuji is quickly running errands for his mom” ann informed yusuke

”so all we have to do now is wait for their arrival” yusuke walked over and he took a seat next to mishima

”hey futaba did you tell sojiro about ren’s condition?” morgana asked

”yeah..I told him last night and he said he’ll let the doctor know about it” futaba had told sojiro about their chance to save ren

”well are we gonna talk the other elephant in the room?” mishima went on

”the other?” shiho replied in confusion

”what are we going to do about akechi?” mishima really wanted to take him down now that they found out who the culprit was

everyone lifted their heads up and looked at eachother as they hadn’t thought that far ahead

what should they even do about akechi?

”we know who the killer is, what are we meant to do now?” mishima was amped up as he thought of ways to deal with akechi

”nothing...” morgana muttered quietly

”nothing!? we can’t do nothing about this! we know who did it! why can’t we strike back!?” mishima wanted to take akechi head on

”because he probably has a backup plan for this! I remember when I stayed at his apartment that he had a briefcase full of stuff, who knows how long he’s been planning this” morgana thought it was useless to just go on and chase akechi

”what do you mean by a briefcase full of stuff?’” ann asked curious to what morgana was referring to

”he had a briefcase full of the same darts that he used to shoot ren with” morgana told everyone

”that’s how he gave ren a palace” shiho connected the dots “but how did he get his hands on that stuff?”

no one knew the answer to that question

”I wonder how long akechi has had this entire thing planned” ann asked

”probably ever since he knew he was in Tokyo” yusuke answered

the group sat there thinking about it all afterwards

* * *

_**School** _

makoto walked through the hallways

school had ended at least an hour ago and the only people who stayed behind were either teachers or certain clubs but most had left as well

now makoto was beginning to make her way out of the school

as she made her way out she bumped into someone

she immediately went for an apology “oh I’m sorry here let me help-“

she extended her hand out but she then saw who it was

”my apologies I wasn’t being careful”

akechi stood up on his own and dusted off his pants

he noticed who it was that he bumped into and he reacted with a smile

”ahh, pardon me” akechi greeted makoto

”a-akechi? what are you doing here?” makoto asked shocked to see akechi at shujin

”good evening I’m just here on an investigation” akechi stated his business

”what do you mean?” makoto asked 

“I mean because of the sudden death of your principal, I believe the phantom thieves are apart of this one as well. oh how far they’ve fallen” akechi taunted makoto bruins his innocent and cheerful smile

makoto was appalled to know about this “you’re gonna frame us further?”

”ah frame you? heavens no, I mean unless you are the phantom thieves” akechi feigned his ignorance as he continued to taunt makoto

”don’t play stupid, why are you planning all of this?”

”why?” akechi began to laugh “don’t think I’d reveal something so personal to me so easily”

akechi snickered as he began to walk past makoto

makoto turned around to see akechi stand there silently

”you’ll soon know my pain. maybe you will feel as much angst for ren as much as I do” akechi sounded firm in his statements

akechi snickered “who knows how you will react but we’ll see if you’re as diligent as your sister or if you’ll fail to uncover the truth just like your father”

akechi walked away while makoto stood there speechless

she didn’t know how to handle what was said to her

* * *

_**Ren’s asylum** _

arsene stood there waiting for the group to arrive

and finally he heard some noise outside

ryuji has finished his quick errands for his mom, haru got out of the funeral and makoto finished her student council work

nothing was exchanged as they walked through the door

arsene floated towards them in order to greet them

” **I see all of you are energized. ready to explore?** ” arsene asked

he looked to everyone’s faces and he saw how worn out they seemed

”let’s do this..” ann went past arsene while everyone followed behind her

arsene watched and as he did he could feel the group’s slow but oncoming feelings of doubt

arsene was uncertain of what was to come

* * *

they pressed through the first door and were greeted with an even larger room with 2 hallways and an very suspicious door that stood right across

the door was just a simple large wooden one and the hallways were made out of a white type of stone

the walls were visibly decayed as they had cracks in the paint and spots where moss and vines began to grow

the only source of light was the sunlight that peered through the windows throughout each hallway

”this place looks abandoned” ryuji observed

” **ren hasn’t let any of his thoughts leave him so that’s probably why** ”

”it makes sense for it to be asylum to him, it’s kinda like a prison” morgana observed

” **not far off from the truth** ”

morgana was intrigued to what arsene meant by that

”oracle can you analyze for us” makoto requested

futaba was already at it trying to analyze the door with her ufo

”that’s the door that leads upstairs. there’s also some kind of slot that might open it”

futaba pointed to the odd and strange holes that were in the door itself

“this place seems very tame for a palace” mishima said

” **that’s because we’re on the first floor, if anything this might be the weakest part of the palace** ”

”hey wait look on this wall” yusuke looked to see some sort of sign engraved on the wall

everyone looked over and they began to read it

there were 2 plaques with arrows on each

one pointed both left and upwards

the other one pointed upwards

the text on the one pointing upwards was too decayed to even decipher while the other plaque was easy to read

the sign that was eligible read out ‘disappointed’

”what’s this gotta mean?” ryuji scratched his head

” **it’s a part of ren’s memories** ”

”well that’s obvious but what does this mean exactly?” ryuji meant why the text seemed so specific

” **I do not know** ”

”aren’t you his persona?” ryuji assumed he’d know

” **it doesn’t matter what I am** ”

”he’s right let’s just push forward and deal with what’s to come” makoto ordered as she led the group onwards

* * *

the hallway was quiet and still

there was no audible sound

”hey how come there’s no shadows here?” haru asked as she was a little startled by the lack of shadows trying to attack them at every turn

”this is definitely not an average palace” morgana said

”no clue..maybe it’s a side effect do the drug” futaba guessed

” **that would be a tame side effect to what it truly is** ”

”is that how bad it is..?” mishima wondered just how rash such a drug would do to a person

the kept going and they eventually made it to the end of the hallway past a doorway

they saw that they were now in some sort of waiting room

there was a bunch of decayed and ripped sofas and chairs littered around and a big window that let out a huge amount of light in

in the middle of the room just standing there was a haru look alike

she had her back turned as she stared out the window

”is that..” ann gasped

”are you here as well...?” the look alike still didn’t turn around to face the group 

”here for what..?” haru asked slowly

the imposter took a moment before speaking “for him to receive his due punishment for his crimes..”

the imposter turned around to show the black eyes the imposter haru had

the door behind the group shut completely behind them

black ooze came out of her eyes and mouth as if she was suffering a mental shutdown

everyone took a step back as they couldn’t believe what they were seeing

more ooze kept spilling out and it began to pour out and touch nearly every end of the room

the group didn’t know what to do as their feet was starting to feel the ooze

” **quick! everyone let’s get out of here!** ” arsene ordered

ryuji went to go open the door but the door wouldn’t budge

“it won’t move!” ryuji said as he began to panic

”this is what you get..FOR LETTING MY FATHER DIE!!!!” the imposter began to screech at the top of her lungs filling the entire room with her eardrum piercing screams

the imposter began to grow a bunch of arms from her back that look like a spider’s legs that lifted her into the air 

”what the hell is that!?” mishima nearly dropped to the floor because of how startled he was

” **it’s one of ren’s cognitions** ” arsene told everyone

”it must be how he sees haru” morgana assumed

”how come he sees me like that?” haru was in shock seeing her shadow counterpart in ren’s palace

“oracle get into your ufo and try to figure out a way to defeat this thing” makoto ordered

”on it!” futaba said

futaba tried to summon her persona and get into her ufo but her feet wouldn’t move

”I’m stuck!” futaba yelled

”what do you mean you’re stuck?” shiho asked confused

”the floor is sticky” futaba couldn’t lift her feet as they were glued to the floor

everyone tried to lift their feet as well

”mine don’t move either” yusuke couldn’t lift his feet as well

”we’re glued here!” ann realized

the entire group was stuck and they had to helplessly fend off the giant spider

everyone stood there blocking all of the spider’s oncoming attacks and occasionally shooting a spell or two at the spider but it would always dodge their oncoming attacks

”how are we supposed to hit it?” ryuji complained

”it keeps dodging our attacks” yusuke parried another one of the spider’s strikes

”at this rate we’ll give away before we can do anything” futaba had the luxury of being behind ann so she couldn’t get hit

”mona, try turning into a car” ann requested hoping that might do something

”good idea!” morgana praised ann for coming up with an idea like that 

morgana then transformed into a van

but morgana was still stuck on the floor

”I can’t move!” morgana announced

”arsene do you know anyway to get it of this?” makoto asked as she kept blocking every oncoming attack

“ **try using your personas to unstick yourself** ” arsene told everyone

”right I’ll try to-“ mishima took his eyes off the spider for a single moment

only to turn back to see one of the spider’s appendages have it’s tip nearly pierce through him

he barely managed to swing his sword and swipe it off but his shoulder still got nicked in the process

”we can’t take our eyes off for a second!” mishima said as he held his sword with one hand while he held his injured shoulder with the other

arsene tried to think of something that might help them

just then one of the spider’s legs tried to attack him

but the attack simply went through his body

arsene then realized what he could do with this ability of his

he began to fly towards the spider itself

the spider saw him and began to focus her attention directly to arsene

but no matter how many times she attacked arsene none of them actually damaged him

” **because ren sees me as something that can’t be damaged you can’t touch me** ”

the spider was frustrated by the flying gentleman thief so she focused all of her attention on trying to hit arsene

” **everyone focus her legs! she can’t dodge your attacks if she can’t move as fast** ” arsene barked at everyone

everyone nodded and they began to lay an waste to the spider

they didn’t hold back at all as they kept firing spell after spell towards the haru spider abomination

smoke began to fling into the air covering the shadow as the onslaught continued

”did we get her?” futaba said optimistically as she tried to tap into her goggles

everyone had since stopped using their personas

the black ooze that was on the floor began to dissipate and once again the phantom thieves could move

“seems we’re free now” yusuke said as he made sure he was unstuck

”why...” the voice was from within the smoke

”oh shit she’s not dead yet!” ryuji said as he pointed his shotgun at the smoke

the smoke began to clear and all that stood was a weakened shadow haru who no longer had dark and soulless eyes but instead had normal looking human eyes

she held her injured arm as she limped towards the group but she fell to her knees halfway before she could make the journey

”why...” she repeated once more “why did you stop me? is it because you want to be free from this prison?” she looked up at the group

arsene flew back down to where the rest of the group was “ **we’re here to take the treasure** ”

”and to save ren!” ann followed up

”you wish to save the person responsible for this suffering?” she was confused to their reason for doing this “do you not know what lies ahead?”

”no” makoto shook her head “mind telling us?” she asked

”you’ll know soon..” shadow haru began to fade out into black smoke “but know this, if you don’t escape and leave this place while you still can you too shall become a bunch uncurable patients trapped within the walls of this place”

shadow haru completely disappeared into a black mist

the door behind the group reopened

”looks like we can leave” morgana said as he took the first step out of the room

everyone quietly waddled their way out of the room

arsene took one last gander as the room

” **something tells me this is only the easy part** ”

arsene flew away from the room

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a taste of what’s to come


	104. Surreal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My bad guys I’ve been a bit busy lately juggling my very bad sleep schedule, online school, this fic and other things happening in my life
> 
> I’ll try to be as consistent as I can

_**Ren’s asylum** _

the group walked around back to the main area

chains could be heard faintly in the back ground

”y’all hear something?” ryuji picked his ear thinking his head was just messing with him

“no I heard that too” morgana thought he was the only one hearing things

” **must be ren** ”

”how do you know?” futaba asked curious to what basis arsene was going off of

arsene then thought about the velvet room for a second and how ren imagined himself in a prison jumpsuit

” **just a hunch** ” it would take arsene way too much time to explain igor, the twins and the velvet room as a whole. it’d be best if he kept quiet about that

eventually the group made it back to the main area with the giant wooden door

as they walked past it something caught each and every person’s eyes as there was a shiny pink orb just sitting in the door

the group didn’t notice before at first but now that it was obvious there were 2 ‘slots’ in the door that could hold something in them

in one of the said slots was a pinkish orb that was placed eye level in the door

”wait what’s that?” futaba grew curious and she walked up to the door

everyone walked up to the door and they got a closer look at the glowing pink orb

”what is it?” ann asked as she went up to inspect it even closer

“ **I wouldn’t advise touching it** ” arsene warned 

“what’ll happen if I do?” ann looked back at arsene

” **take a closer look at it** ” arsene pointed at the pink orb

everyone began to eye down and analyze the orb closely

the pink orb wasn’t just glowing pink. it was flashing every moment ren had spent with haru

”but there’s something else to it right?” morgana sensed something else within the orb besides flashing images of haru 

” **I’m not sure myself but it’s just a premonition...it gives off a bad vibe the more I look at it** ”

ann kept her eyes trained into the orb as she contemplated whether or not she should really press her hand onto it. if it’s really like how arsene said than she could be able to see everything ren has gone through, but first she wanted to test it out

”I’m gonna press it” ann said with no hesitation in her voice

”wait! panther don’t!” shiho tried to grab onto ann before she could touch the orb

ann held her breath and closed her eyes before gently grabbing the orb 

* * *

_**???** _

ann opened her eyes to feel herself enveloped in nothing but darkness

she was able to freely move around and about as there were no restrictions on her

as ann checked to see if she was fine or not a very sharp pain filled her head as several images flashed into her head

every single one of those images were moments ren had spent with haru 

every. single. one.

even something as insignificant as just glancing at haru or just helping her garden was immediately engraved into ann’s mind

it felt like ann had just lived like ren for every single moment

” _I’m sorry...for letting you down_ ” ren’s voice echoed through ann’s mind along with more images of haru but this time it was what ren saw during the fight with the dark mask back in okumura’s palace

haru’s horrified face when she saw ren get impaled

haru’s crying face as she tried to heal ren

ren watching as the dark mask shot haru’s father

” _if only I wasn’t so weak..._ ” that was the last thing ann heard from ren before the pain became way too strong for her to bare

she held her head as her mind kept repeating the same three images over and over again

”STOP!” ann yelled out loud as she couldn’t handle every single memory pouring into her mind and forcing its way through at such a sickening and rapid pace

” _it will never stop...as long as I’m still alive this pain will never end.._ ” ren’s sad and grim voice appeared right next to ann 

* * *

ann woke up back in the asylum as her mind escaped from whatever place that orb took her to

”panther are you alright?” shiho held ann’s hand as she sat right above her with a worried expression

ann realized that she was currently on the floor with everyone staring at her

shiho had gently placed her onto the floor after she touched the orb

ann also saw that she had amassed a cold sweat as she began to sit up while holding her head with her free hand

her headache still persisted as she could recall every moment that happened after she touched the orb

“what happened?” ann asked still dazed

”you touched the orb and then you fell backwards” shiho informed her “I help you lay down without letting you crack your head open” she said proudly

”how long was I out for?” ann tried to stand up but she would’ve fallen back down if it wasn’t for shiho and ryuji grabbing her arms to make sure she didn’t

” **a few seconds** ” arsene told her

”only a few...?” ann look at her hands to see how badly shaken they were “it felt like I was in there for longer..”

” **in where?** ”

”i...” ann tried to describe what she went through but..she couldn’t come up with any words to even describe it “I’m....not sure...”

”not sure? how can you not be sure of what you saw?” yusuke was perplexed

”it was a rush of emotions..but i think what I saw was a piece of ren“ ann said as she walked back to the orb once more

”it might’ve been a part of his memories” ann realized what this palace was truly trying to convey “we’re going through all of ren’s memories...that’s what his distorted feelings have to be”

everyone looked at eachother as they thought about it

” **you’re not wrong about that...if anything I should’ve suspected that from the very beginning..** ” arsene shook his head as this thought never crossed his mind. the thought of slogging through memories was only a second hand thought to what arsene truly thought this asylum was trying to represent

“that makes this place 100 times more confusing to deal with now” ryuji couldn’t wrap his head around it

”anyways if it’s an orb that we‘re gonna get, now let’s move” mishima aimed his head towards the other hallway he group hadn’t explored yet

everyone simply followed behind mishima

makoto surprisingly was the only one to hang back behind everyone

she took a moment to look at the orb

“...” makoto wondered something about this place but there wasn’t any reason to explore on it now

* * *

the group walked down the other hallway 

again they were met with another room that sat empty with barely anything in besides a very suspicious amount of hair lying all around the floor and a giant black creature who probably left all the fur lying around

”why is it like I stepped into a barber shop here?” ryuji said as he shook some hair off of his shoe

morgana climbed up ryuji’s shoulder “it’s like a sea for me”

”dude, get off of my shoulder“ ryuji snapped at morgana as he was still not on good terms with him

”but you have the broadest shoulders I don’t see why I can’t perch here” morgana didn’t see what the issue was

”that’s not the point I-“ ryuji was about to shout back at morgana

” **everyone heads up** ”

everyone looked forward to see the creature move its body

it seemed the creature was a very large and a very familiar feline that the group knew all too well albeit a gigantized version of morgana’s normal world form

”so we face a shadow version of mona-chan” haru spoke as she prepared her persona a bit earlier this time around

”why is he so big?” shiho asked as the cat seemed to be just a huge as the wakaba beast they fought a few months back

”is it bad that I really wanna fluff his fur?” futaba couldn’t help but speak whatever was on her mind

”no, I would as well” yusuke thought about how cozy he’d feel

”my fur is still pretty soft” morgana thought we was just enough as is

”focus on the mission at hand” makoto ordered

”got it” futaba immediately got into her persona and she began to boost everyone up

”skull! why don’t we give it a shot!” mishima was already amped up to take this thing on

ryuji couldn’t help but smirk “let’s do this then”

makoto sighed as it seemed that there would have to be some healing done after this

”fox, noir, let’s follow up” makoto also prepares her persona

the two of them nodded to makoto

“we’ll provide support as always” ann said as she got her whip out

”now, break!” makoto yelled at everyone

everyone began to spring forwards towards the beast

* * *

_**Akechi’s apartment** _

akechi was in his bedroom tinkering with the pistol he had kept in his briefcase

he had a workbench that held various tools

he was nearly finished with setting the gun up

*BZZ* *BZZ*

akechi was getting a call from his phone

he saw the caller ID and his face went from calm and relaxed to disgusted and annoyed

he picked it up and put on a fake cheery voice “hello? akechi speaking”

[so I’ve heard from a few of my teams that you missed out of taking out the boy] the person sounded furious

”I was only following the plan I set out for him” akechi was already bored of the conversation and he just wanted to get back to what he was doing

[listen I admire the way you stick to your plan but you had a clear chance to take out the target yet you hesitated in doing so]

”wasn’t hesitation, it was to make sure the plan went smoothly. if I messed up one part who knows what might’ve happened”

[you make a fair point, but even so this all relies on you to make the shots]

”I know that sir so please don’t call me out of the blue to discuss these things” akechi tried to end the call quickly without being rude

[i wouldn’t have if I didn’t have another job for you. I have some opponents that need to be dealt with, death may be excessive but you can easily blackmail them if you felt like it. one of the other is fine]

”oh is that so....” akechi gritted his teeth as his annoyance started to turn into anger

[think you can do it for me?]

“Yeah...I can do it just fine.....” akechi went dead silent

[then I hope to see my campaign go a little more smoothly]

”any day Shido-san....”

he hung up on akechi

akechi lowered his hand as he stared at his phone

”that bastard only sees me as a pawn for his uses yet I’m the one doing all the heavy lifting” akechi couldn’t control his anger and he was starting to spiral into an uncontrollable hate filled rant

before he could lose himself he nearly slammed his hand on the gun he had 

he realized what he almost done

”one slip up and I could've accidentally died”

he carefully picked up the gun making sure not to activate the trigger he installed onto it

he inspected it to see if there were any blemishes that could make it look like different from a standard use pistol

once he saw that he had finally finished making the pistol he smirked

”perfect...”

* * *

the group finally took down the giant shadow morgana

without a word the giant cat began to fade into a black smoke

”hey how come I didn’t say anything?” morgana asked wondering why he wasn’t his shadow counterpart didn’t have anything to say

” **ren perhaps sees you as someone without much importance to him? no, that wouldn’t make sense...** ” arsene couldn’t figure out this part of ren’s palace

”I wouldn’t be surprised” ryuji didn’t care all that much about morgana place in ren’s mind

”skull!” makoto didn’t want to hear them bicker once more

” **oh? mind informing what has happened ever since ren fell into a coma** ”

”how much do you know so far?” futaba asked 

” **when ren lost his powers after we all were trying to escape okumura’s palace** ”

”skull and mona got into a fight again about ren’s condition” futaba informed him

” **fair but there’s something I want to hear from someone** ” arsene looked towards morgana

”me?” morgana asked dumbfounded as he was completely out of the loop I’m this conversation

” **you left the group over something as petty and insults and pride. something like that only leads to destruction** ” arsene didn’t skip a beat as he went in on morgana’s pride being a reason why he left

”but- I...” morgana hung his head low in shame as he realized what he had done “I have nothing to say”

” **good, now pick your head up and apologize for your mistakes** ” arsene instructed

”I’m sorry everyone for doing this to you” morgana still had his head lowered as he apologized to everyone

arsene then turned his head towards ryuji “ **ryuji I want you to do the same, apologize to morgana** ”

”fine...” ryuji rubbed the back of his head “my bad for flipping out on ya..” ryuji apologized

arsene now satisfied with both of their apologies looked to everyone else ” **now then let this be an example. we mustn’t fight amongst ourselves, that will only cause problems that will waste time and eventually result in failure. so either forgive each other and avoid conflict or you can allow ren to slowly suffer and die** ”

Everyone didn’t speak as they realized that they should follow arsene’s guidance

” **now that we solved that mystery let us continue** ” arsene flew ahead of the group

”he really is ren’s persona in terms of how he speaks” yusuke observed

”well it aligns with everything he’s said” morgana agreed with yusuke

”anyways now that we beat shadow mona maybe the door is open” ann said very optimistically

chains could be heard in the distance

the group left the room and they went back down to the main hub with the door

* * *

they saw as there was a grayish orb that mimic’d the pink orb but the only difference being that instead of flashing images of haru it flashed various images of morgana instead

”so that’s it right?” makoto wanted to be sure about what they were getting themselves into

” **yep, this should lead up to the next floor** ”

”then let’s do it” mishima walked forward and opened the door

the door gave out a loud creak as mishima pried it open

what was behind the door was a small rusty elevator that could fit the entire group but not in a snug type of way

arsene floated into the elevator

” **alright hop in** ”

”are you sure it’s safe?” shiho didn’t trust how unsafe and rickety the elevator looked 

” **I doubt ren would imagine an elevator that fell. maybe an elevator that got stuck but that’s still not a possibility** ” arsene wondered how crazy ren’s cognition would get but it was still pretty tame for what had happened

”it doesn’t matter. maybe ren wants us to follow the inside of his heart but he can’t express that himself” ann wanted it to turn it the way but deep down inside ann knew it wasn’t

”let’s just go in, there’s no way ren would imagine us to die” mishima’s legs were wobbly as he was deathly terrified to step into the elevator

”let’s head inside everyone, that’s the only way to get through this quickly” haru was the first one to step into the elevator

everyone could hear the rickety metal floor of the elevator as haru stepped over it

”arsene-san..this is safe right?” haru still wasn’t too sure and now that she was actually on it and could actually feel how loose it was which didn’t help at all

” **of course it is, now everyone else get on** ”

”you sure there aren’t any stairs around here?” ryuji tried to find a way to jot go onto the elevator so he consulted futaba

”I doubt there are any other vantage points” yusuke shook his head as he tried to recall the layout of this place

”well I just wanna be sure” ryuji just really didn’t want to go into that elevator

futaba checked the data on her goggles to see “negative”

ryuji quietly whined to himself

” **can you get on already!? stop acting like children** ” arsene was getting irritated from everyone’s persistent attempt to not get on the elevator

”that’s easy for you to say! you don’t take damage and you can float!” shiho pointed at arsene offended that he had the guts to stand there and rush people

” **I share ren’s fears. this is nothing** ”

”let’s just go on” ann tried to sound serious but her voice let out the paranoia in her voice

she also hopped into the elevator

”may it be life or death” yusuke followed behind ann

”what he said” morgana followed as well

eventually everyone followed into the unstable elevator

the elevator was a rusty, decayed and destroyed elevator that could still function. it had huge holes and tears in the walls to where the group could see the walls protrude into the elevator itself

” **now then push the button** ” arsene looked to ann who was the closet the button

ann took a deep breath “please ren don’t let us die” 

ann presses the button that lifted them upwards

the door to the elevator closed and the group was treated with the metal gears of the elevator turning along with the walls of the asylum turning from a decayed whitish gray to a darker gray to a near black with moss and vines sticking out of the walls

soon enough the elevator stopped and the door opened to show the darker and bleaker second floor

”this isn’t like the first floor..” morgana observed

” **must be another side effect** ” arsene contributed the palace’s odd change to the drug’s effect on ren’s mind

everyone stepped out of the elevator they began to scan around the place

they saw that the place had no actual light and that they were basically in the dark

the only thing that was visible was arsene’s slightly illuminated body that worked more like a weak glow stick than an actual light source

”why is it so dark?” mishima asked as he was extra cautious to not bump into anything or anyone

”maybe there’s some sort of reason for this” makoto was very suspiciously close to arsene for certain reasons

arsene noticed this and he slowly backed away  from makoto so that he could have his space

makoto slowly shifted towards him

” **makoto...mind giving me some space?** ” arsene asked nicely

”oh..I’m sorry I didn’t mean to impede..” makoto shifted herself only a few millimeters away from arsene

” **I forgot you were afraid of the dark** ” arsene remembered when makoto clinged onto ren back at sojiro’s house

”I am not afraid of the dark!” makoto defended herself immediately

”boo!” futaba came up behind makoto and tapped her back

makoto jolted forward as she was startled by futaba’s weak attempt to frighten her “don’t do that!” she was caught completely off guard

a random flame then appeared in front of everyone catching them by surprise

everyone had taken out their weapons as they prepared for a fight

“so you’ve arrived to the second floor..” a familiar voice spoke behind the flame

suddenly the entire room was alit exposing the mangled room they had unknowingly stepped into

even arsene was in complete shock and confusion as he looked in the room

the room seemed to splattered all over in what looked to be blood but they weren’t totally sure about it

behind the flame was the imposter ren that everyone had met when they first entered the asylum

morgana began to converse with him ”you...where-“

”welcome” he cut him off before morgana could ask his question “this is the part where this palace begins to show it’s true colors”

” **what’s that supposed to mean!?** ” arsene asked wondering what the hell the imposter meant

the imposter couldn’t help but let his laughter out as he saw everyone’s distraught faces. he was holding his stomach as he kept laughing in front of everyone

”tell us for fuck’s sake!” shiho yelled at the imposter

the imposter caught his breath as he stood back up with the same smug smirk as before “by the way I should’ve told you something before I left last time” he scratched his head as he tried to remember “oh yeah! floors 2 and 3 have basically combined due to a floor collapsing into the other, all because of these eroding walls that surround this place”

the imposter decided to demonstrate how weak the walls were by kicking the wall directly behind him causing the wall to be punctured like it was a piece of paper

the imposter peeled his foot back from the wall and he stared back at the group but he mainly stared at ann “blonde, you touched one of those orbs didn’t you?”

ann was caught off guard by the very out of nowhere question “yeah? what about it?”

”you just accessed a part of ren’s memory. I suggest being very careful with those, who knows what might happen. maybe it’ll cause ren to forget that memory in its entirety or better yet maybe you’ll overload your brain if you try to go through too many memories” the imposter explained to everyone

ann’s legs began to buckle as she realized the risks in doing something so rash

”I suggest you really be careful with what you interact with, they might have in real life effects on ren’s health” he warned

”mind sharing the contents of the drug?” yusuke asked

”what’s in the drug?” the imposter once again began to laugh uncontrollably “arsey you didn’t tell them!? HAHAHA-you’re just like ren you know that, hiding the truth from the others”

” **I’m not hiding anything!** ” arsene claimed

”so you’re not gonna tell them that ren is the reason that neet’s mom is dead!?”

everyone in the room went dead silent especially futaba

arsene only mentioned that ren and akechi worked together and akechi killed futaba’s mom. that’s all the context they were given

” **that’s a lie! akechi was the one who killed ms. Isshiki** ” arsene yelled back at him

”yet ren was the one who knew her and let akechi know about her. days and days of her experiments just to open her palace and allow akechi to deal with it while he went back to Kyoto”

” **that’s a lie! you’re putting that without any context or meaning behind it!** ” arsene kept calling out the imposter’s words

”oh arsene, it’s not about who pulls the trigger, it’s about who gave him the gun. and besides you’ve been holding back on the group.” the imposter switched it around blaming arsene for not telling the truth

” **I...I haven’t** ” arsene stuttered on his own words as he realized that he maybe should’ve told everyone about ren’s past 

”face the facts arsey, ren is the main reason she’s dead, and there’s nothing that can change that fact”


End file.
